Red-light-emitting electrochemical cell using a polypyridyl iridium(III) polymer

A deep-red phosphorescent ionic iridium(iii) complex is prepared and incorporated into a polymer. Both the complex (1) and the polymer (2) were used as the single active material in solid-state light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs). The devices built up using 1 and 2 emit in the deep-red region of the visible spectrum with CIE coordinates x = 0.710; y = 0.283 and x = 0.691; y = 0.289, respectively, making them one of the deepest-red emitting LECs reported. It is the first example of a polymeric LEC incorporating an ionic iridium complex, which exhibits increased stabilities compared with the device based on the small molecular weight complex.