Recent advances of neutral rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes for application in organic light-emitting diodes

• All Re(I) complexes investigated as emissive phosphors in OLEDs are presented.
• The paper is mainly focused on Re(I) complexes as phosphors for application in OLEDs.
• Neutral Re(I) tricarbonyl complexes are promising candidates in OLEDs.

Since the intersystem crossing from singlet state to triplet state is effectively promoted by strong spin-orbit coupling, neutral rhenium [Re(I)] tricarbonyl complexes show phosphorescent emission at room temperature and potentially achieve an internal quantum efficiency of 100%. Besides, Re(I) complexes also exhibit relatively short excited lifetime, excellent thermal stability, and photochemical stability. The favorable properties make Re(I) complex a promising candidate material for application in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) as emissive phosphors. Therefore, it is essential to review the progress on Re(I) complexes. In this review, the research on different neutral Re(I) tricarbonyl complexes and corresponding applications as emitters in OLEDs is firstly systematically summarized and evaluated.

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