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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Fabrication of White Light-emitting Electrochemical Cells with Stable Emission from Exciplexes
Published on: November 15, 2016
A supramolecularly-caged ionic iridium(III) complex yielding bright and very stable solid-state light-emitting
Stefan Graber1, Kevin Doyle, Markus Neuburger
1Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Spitalstrasse 51, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
A novel iridium(III) complex with pi-stacking enhances the stability of solid-state light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs). This breakthrough offers a path toward practical applications with extended device lifetimes and high luminance.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemistry
- Solid-State Physics
Background:
- Light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) are promising for lighting applications.
- Improving the operational stability and luminance of LECs is crucial for practical use.
- Existing ionic complexes often lack the required long-term stability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize a new iridium(III) complex with intramolecular interligand pi-stacking.
- To investigate the impact of this complex on the stability of single-component, solid-state LEC devices.
- To assess the potential of this approach for achieving practical LEC applications.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of a novel iridium(III) complex featuring intramolecular interligand pi-stacking.
- Fabrication of single-component, solid-state light-emitting electrochemical cell (LEC) devices utilizing the synthesized complex.
- Characterization of the device performance, including stability (lifetime) and luminance measurements.
Main Results:
- A stable supramolecularly caged iridium(III) complex was formed due to pi-stacking.
- LECs incorporating this complex demonstrated extraordinary stability, with an estimated lifetime of 600 hours.
- The devices achieved high average luminance values of 230 cd m-2.
Conclusions:
- Intramolecular interligand pi-stacking in iridium(III) complexes can significantly enhance LEC stability.
- The developed complex offers a viable route towards highly stable and efficient solid-state LECs.
- This research paves the way for practical applications of LEC technology.
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Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.

