Bis(arylimidazole) Iridium Picolinate Emitters and Preferential Dipole Orientation in Films

The straightforward synthesis and photophysical properties of a new series of heteroleptic iridium­(III) bis­(2-arylimidazole) picolinate complexes are reported. Each complex has been characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, UV–vis, cyclic voltammetry, and photoluminescent angle dependency, and the emissive properties of each are described. The preferred orientation of transition dipoles in emitter/host thin films indicated more preferred orientation than homoleptic complex Ir­(ppy)3.