Optical, electrochemical and photophysical analyses of heteroleptic luminescent Ln(iii) complexes for lighting applications.

A series of lanthanide complexes have been synthesized with fluorinated 1,3-diketones and heteroaromatic ancillary moieties. Spectroscopic studies reveal the attachment of the respective lanthanide ion to the oxygen site of β-diketone and nitrogen site of auxiliary moieties. The conducting behavior of the complexes is proposed by their optical energy gaps which lie in the range of semiconductors. The emission profiles of the lanthanide complexes demonstrate red and green luminescence owing to the distinctive transitions of Sm 3+ and Tb 3+ ions, respectively. Energy transfer via antenna effect clearly reveals the effective transfer of energy from the chromophoric moiety to the Ln 3+ ion. The prepared conducting and luminescent Ln(iii) complexes might be employed as the emitting component in designing OLEDs.