Synthesis, structure, photo- and electroluminescent properties of bis{(4-methyl-N-[2-[(E)-2-pyridyliminomethyl]phenyl)]benzenesulfonamide}zinc(II)

The synthesis, structure and spectroscopic properties of luminescent Zn(II) complex containing 4-methyl-N-[2-[(E)-pyridinylmethyl]phenyl]benzosulfimide ligand are described. The Zn(II) complex was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G∗ level were performed on Zn(II) complex to interpretation its experimental UV–Vis absorption spectrum. OLED device with Zn(II) complex as light-emitting layer has been fabricated. The electroluminescent spectrum of OLED showed a dominant yellow emission at 525 nm (Commission Internationale de l'eclairage (CIE) coordinates x = 0.409 and y = 0.506) and a weak shoulder at 650 nm without any other distinguishing emission from host or adjacent layers. The fabricated OLED generated luminance of more than 1000 cd/m2 at 16 V, current density 600 mA/cm2 and rather low turn-on voltage of ca. 4 V and power efficiency 1 lm/W. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd