Tetradentate Platinum(II) Emitters: Design Strategies, Photophysics, and OLED Applications

This chapter provides an overview of tetradentate platinum(II) emitters as a promising class of metal-organic phosphorescent dopants for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Tetradentate platinum(II) emitters showing blue, green, and red light emissions, which are essential for full color displays as well as white light emission, are reviewed and discussed in the context of molecular design and photophysical and electroluminescent properties. Emphasis is placed on the molecular structures, the nature of emissive excited states [including ligand-centered (LC), intra-ligand charge transfer (ILCT), metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT), and excimeric and oligomeric metal-metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MMLCT)], the intermolecular interactions impacting photophysical attributes (e.g., emission energies, quantum yields, and decay times), and OLED device performances.