Novel Divalent Osmium Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, Tuning of Emission, and use in Organic Light Emitting Diodes

In this work we present the synthesis and characterization of several novel osmium complexes of the form [Os(N-N)2 L-L]2+ 2Ts- or [Os(L-L)2 N-N]2+ 2Ts- designed for organic light emitting device (OLED) applications. In the complex notation N-N represents a derivative of 2,2'-bipyridine or 1,10-phenanthroline and L-L represents a strong π-acid arsine or phosphine ligand. Several counterions have been used and include tosylate, hexafluorophosphate, triflate, heptafluorobutyrate, chloride, bromide, and iodide. The complexes feature 3MLCT emission that ranges from 611-650 nm, which makes them suitable as an emission source for red OLEDs. Phosphorescent quantum yields as high as 45% and emission lifetimes as short as 400 nanoseconds have been reached. The complexes were incorporated into OLED and give off red, orange, yellow, and green electrophosphorescence. Red devices have been created using polyvinylcarb/2-tert-butylphenyl-5-biphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole, polyvinylnapthalene/2-tert-butylphenyl-5-biphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole, and polyfluorene host materials. OLEDs have been created which give brightness up to 3000 cd m-2 and efficiency up to 2.2% at 632 nm emission.