Metal Ions as the Third Component Coordinate with the Guest to Stereoscopically Enhance the Phosphorescence Properties of Doped Materials

The construction of multicomponent doped systems is an important direction for the development of phosphorescence materials. Herein, benzophenone is selected as the host, phenylquinoline isomers are designed as guests, and seven metal ions are selected as the third component (Al3+, Cu+/(2+), Zn2+, Ga3+, Ag+, Cd2+, and In3+) to construct the three-component doped system. Ag+ and Cd2+ can considerably increase the emission intensity up to 38 times, and the highest phosphorescence quantum efficiency reaches 70%. Al3+, Ga3+, and In3+ can prolong the emission wavelength, and the phosphorescence wavelength can be red-shifted up to 60 nm. Cu2+, Ga3+, and In3+ can extend the phosphorescence lifetime by a maximum of 3.6 times. A series of experiments demonstrated that the coordination of metals and guests is the key to improve the phosphorescence properties. This work presents a simple and effective strategy to enhance the phosphorescence properties of doped materials.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the construction of multicomponent doped systems for the development of phosphorescence materials. By selecting benzophenone as the host and phenylquinoline isomers as the guests, and introducing seven different metal ions as the third component, the authors successfully construct a three-component doped system. The results show that the introduction of Ag+ and Cd2+ can significantly increase the emission intensity, while the introduction of Al3+, Ga3+, and In3+ can prolong the emission wavelength, and Cu2+, Ga3+, and In3+ can extend the phosphorescence lifetime.