Synthesis and phosphorescent properties of the copolymers of N-vinylcarbazole, methyl methacrylate and iridium complex

The copolymers containing carbazole unit and iridium complexes, such as (Ir(bpy)2Cl, Ir(mbpy)2Cl and Ir(Brbpy)2Cl, were synthesized via radical copolymerization of N-vinylcarbazole, methyl methacrylate and iridium complex. The synthesized copolymers were characterized by FT-IR, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, respectively. According to the results, the copolymers (Ir(Brbpy)2Cl/PVK and Ir(mbpy)2Cl/PVK) exhibit yellow phosphorescence with an emission peak at around 553 nm under UV-visible light in the solid state. The results also reveal almost complete energy transfer from the host carbazole segments to the guest Ir complex in the copolymer film when the Ir content reaches 1.0 wt.%. The synthesized copolymers are good candidates as blue or yellow phosphorescent materials for PLED applications.