Electronic absorption and emission spectra of Alq3 in solution with special attention to a delayed fluorescence

Tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III) (Alq3) shows electronic absorption bands at 378, 360 (in a 1:1 mixed solvent of methanol and ethanol (ME) at 77 K), 334, 316, 300, 263, 255.8, and 233 nm in ethanol at room temperature. According to the polarized fluorescence excitation spectrum together with MO calculations, for instance, the 360 nm band is assigned to an LL CT transition (an intramolecular charge transfer transition between two ligands), and the 378 nm band to an LM/ML CT one (an intramolecular charge transfer transition between ligand and metal). Alq3 shows a broad fluorescence band peaking at around 478 nm in the ME matrix at 77 K. The emission spectrum measured with a phosphoroscope has two emission bands at 567 and 478 nm. The 567 nm band accompanies vibronic bands at 578 and 605 nm, being safely assigned to a phosphorescence of Alq3. The lifetimes of the 478 and 567 nm bands are both 5.4 ms. The lifetime of the 478 nm band together with the band position and its band shape indicate that this band can be assigned to a delayed fluorescence.