Molecular electrophosphorescence in (Sm, Gd)-β-diketonate complex blend for OLED applications

Abstract In this work the preparation and characterization of the triple-layer organic light-emitting diode (OLED) using a mixture of the samarium and gadolinium β-diketonate complexes [Sm 0.5 Gd 0.5 (TTA) 3 (TPPO) 2 ] as emitting layer is reported. The OLED's devices contain 1-(3-methylphenyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline-6-carboxyaldehyde-1,1'-diphenylhydrazone (MTCD) as hole-transporting layer and tris(8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum) (Alq 3 ) as electron transporting layer. The electroluminescence spectrum present emission narrow bands from the 4 G 5/2 → 6 H J transitions (where J =5/2, 7/2 and 9/2) characteristic of the Sm 3+ ion. These sharp lines are overlapped with a broad band attributed to the electrophosphorescence from the T 1 →S 0 transition in the ligand TTA. The intramolecular energy transfer is discussed and applied on the change of the emission color of the organic LEDs at different bias voltages.