Host-guest blue light-emitting electrochemical cast

Carbazole, a commonly used hole-transporter for organic electronics, has been modified with an imidazolium cation and a hexafluorophosphate counter-anion to give an ionic hole-transporter. It has been applied as one of the hosts in a host-guest blue light-emitting electrochemical cell (LEC) with the neutral blue emitter FIrPic. We have obtained efficient and bright blue LECs with an electroluminescence maximum at 474 nm and efficacy of 5 cd A(-1) at a luminance of 420 cd m(-2), thereby demonstrating the potential of the ionic organic charge-transporters and of the host-guest architecture for LECs.