Zinc complex based on 2-(5-methyl-2-hydroxyphenyl)benzotriazole: synthesis and electroluminescence characteristics

Zinc (II) [2-(5-methyl-2-hydroxyphenyl)benzotriazole] (Zn(MHB)2) was synthesized and characterized by FT-NMR, FT-IR, UV-Vis, XPS and elemental analysis. The photoluminescence of Zn(MHB)2 was measured at 516 nm from the DMF solution. The HOMO (6.6 eV) and LUMO (3.1 eV) energy levels of Zn(MHB)2 were estimated from the measurement of cyclic voltammetry. The devices with structure of ITO/NPB/Zn(MHB)2/Alq3/LiF/Al were constructed to investigate their electroluminescent (EL) performance. Zn(MHB)2 was found to be a good hole-blocking material in the EL devices.