Highly Efficient Red Emissive Heteroleptic Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes Bearing Two Substituted 2-Phenylquinoxaline and One 2-Pyrazinecarboxylic Acid

A series of highly efficient red phosphorescent heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes 1-6 containing two cyclometalating 2-(2,4-substitued phenyl)quinoxaline ligands and one chromophoric ancillary ligand were synthesized: (pqx)$_2Ir$(mprz) (1), (dmpqx)$_2Ir$(mprz) (2), (dfpqx)$_2Ir$(mprz) (3), (pqx)$_2Ir$(prz) (4), (dmpqx)$_2Ir$(prz) (5), (dfpqx)$_2Ir$(prz) (6), where pqx = 2-phenylquinoxaline, dfpqx = 2-(2,4-diflourophenyl)quinoxaline, dmpqx = 2-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)quinoxaline, prz = 2-pyrazinecarboxylate and mprz = 5-methyl-2-pyrazinecarboxylate. The absorption, emission, electrochemical and thermal properties of the complexes were evaluated for potential applications to organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The structure of complex 2 was also determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Complex 2 exhibited distorted octahedral geometry around the iridium metal ion, for which 2-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)quinoxaline N atoms and C atoms of orthometalated phenyl groups are located at the mutual trans and cis-positions, respectively. The emission spectra of the complexes are governed largely by the nature of the cyclometalating ligand, and the phosphorescent peak wavelengths can be tuned from 588 to 630 nm with high quantum efficiencies of 0.64 to 0.86. Cyclic voltammetry revealed irreversible metal-centered oxidation with potentials in the range of 1.16 to 1.89 V as well as two quasi-reversible reduction waves with potentials ranging from -0.94 to -1.54 V due to the sequential addition of two electrons to the more electron-accepting heterocyclic portion of two distinctive cyclometalated C^N ligands.