A Simple Design for Strongly Emissive Sky-Blue Phosphorescent Neutral Rhenium Complexes: Synthesis, Photophysics, and Electroluminescent Devices

A simple design strategy for a new class of stable, vacuum-sublimable, and strongly emissive sky-blue neutral phosphorescent Re­(I) phenanthroline complexes {Re­(R2phen)­(CO)3[CNB­(C6F5)3]} is reported. These complexes show intense bluish green emission in CH2Cl2 solution with the highest emission quantum yield and bluest emission ever reported for the neutral Re­(I) diimine complexes. In the solid state, they display sky-blue emission. The electroluminescent properties of devices containing these complexes have also been investigated.