Thermally activated delayed fluorescence in a deep red dinuclear iridium(iii) complex: a hidden mechanism for short luminescence lifetimes.

ABSTRACT: The high luminescence efficiency of cyclometallated iridium(iii) complexes, including those widely used in OLEDs, is typically attributed solely to the formally spin-forbidden phosphorescence process being facilitated by spin-orbit coupling with the Ir(iii) centre. In this work, we provide unequivocal evidence that an additional mechanism can also participate, namely a thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) pathway. TADF is well-established in other materials, including in purely organic compounds, but has never been observed in iridium complexes. Our findings may transform the design of iridium(iii) complexes by including an additional, faster fluorescent radiative decay pathway. We discover it here in a new dinuclear complex, 1, of the form [Ir(N^C)₂]₂

SUBMITTER: Pander P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10699548 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature