Acetylide-Functionalized Mono Pyridine Ancillary Sensitizer Ligands and their Europium(III) ?-diketonate Complexes For Opto-electronic Applications

Oman has 0.3% of the world?s crude oil reserve, which started to decline from 2015. This is a matter of serious concern because the energy demand for the rapidly developing Omani society is increasing exponentially. Hence an alternative and sustainable energy research is of strategic importance to the Sultanate. A strategy to save the much-needed electrical energy is to use light emitting diodes (LEDs) instead of high-energy consuming devices. The main thrust of this strategic project is the design and development of new ternary Eu(III) ?-diketonate complexes incorporating acetylide-functionalized mono pyridine ancillary sensitizer for applications in organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) to save electrical energy. The project will deal with the development of new functional materials consisting of ?-conjugated pyridine organic framework incorporating trivalent lanthanide metal ions especially Eu(III) for opto-electronic (O-E) applications. Past two decades have witnessed a large volume of research on Ln(III) complexes incorporating a range of organic ligands. The performance of such materials-based OLEDs depends on their absorption profile, energy difference between the triplet state and emitting levels of Ln(III) and other factors. Overall, the metal-organic hybrid materials possess improved material properties for application in O-E devices. The proposed project will address the following key areas: (i) synthesis of a series of acetylide-functionalized mono pyridine (?-Py) ancillary ligands (ii) synthesis of Eu(III) ?-diketonate complexes incorporating ?-Py ancillary ligands (iii) chemical, spectroscopic, structural, electro-chemical characterization of the newly synthesized materials, (v) study the optical properties of the new materials and their structure-property relationships (vi) fabrication of OLEDs using selected Eu(III) complexes, and assessment of their performance. The project will develop scientific and research skills and expertise in the Sultanate. This will be achieved by providing training to the graduate students, technical staffs, research assistants, young faculty in the Department of Chemistry at SQU. Successful implementation of the project will establish SQU as a research hub in OLED materials and the developed scientific knowledge will help Oman?s energy sector and the economy. The project will be implemented in the Department of Chemistry while new collaboration will be established and the existing collaborations strengthened with leading institutions in Europe, USA and Hong Kong. It will enhance SQU?s standing and ranking in research internationally by disseminating research findings in high impact international journals and in major international conferences. The project outcome may also lead to intellectual property development.