Light-emitting device

Abstract
There is provided an organic light-emitting device obtained by using a specific copper coordination compound as a light-emitting material, which has a basic structure in which two copper ions are crosslinked in a ring form by one of atomic groups containing a halogen atom, a sulfur atom, and an nitrogen atom. The light-emitting device provides high luminescence efficiency and high stability at low cost by using an inexpensive copper coordination compound as a light-emitting material.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention


The present invention relates to a light-emitting device using an organic compound. More specifically, the present invention relates to an organic light-emitting device using a metal coordination compound as a light-emitting material so as to allow high luminescence efficiency in a stable manner.


2. Related Background Art


An organic electroluminescence (EL) device has been extensively studied for its practical application as a light-emitting device with a high responsiveness and high luminescence efficiency (see, e.g., “Macromol. Symp.”, 125, pp. 1-48 (1997)).


A copper coordination compound can be produced at a comparatively low cost because of inexpensive raw materials. Thus, exploiting the characteristics of the copper coordination compound would lead to a high-performance organic EL device with low cost.


For instance, organic EL devices using copper complexes have been disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2940514 B and Y. Ma et al., “High Luminescence Gold (1) and Copper (1) complexes with Triplet Excited State for Use in Light-Emitting Diodes”, Advanced Materials, 1999, 11, No. 10, p. 852. However, these EL devices are extremely poor in luminescence efficiency and described insufficiently in these documents in terms of their efficiency. The characteristics of the cooper coordination compound may be insufficiently brought out. Thus, the cooper coordination compound has insufficient property to be used for a display, illumination, or the like.


Furthermore, in “Chemical Review”, 1999, 99, p. 3625-3647 and the proceedings of “the 15th Photochemistry Panel Discussion of Coordination Compound” (Japan), 2001, p. 91, copper coordination compounds are disclosed. However, these documents describe only photoluminescence emitted in a solution or crystalline particle powder, while no luminescence of an organic EL device under excitation with an electric current is described.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a light-emitting device with high luminescence efficiency, high stability, and low cost using an inexpensive copper coordination compound.


An organic light-emitting device according to the present invention includes a copper coordination compound having a partial structural formula represented by the following general formula (1) as a light-emitting material:
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(In the formula (1), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents an atomic group containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom; and at least one of A1 to A3 is a ligand composed of an atomic group containing a carbon atom and may be covalently bound to another one).


In the organic light-emitting device according to the present invention, a copper coordination compound is preferably used as a light-emitting material, which has a partial structural formula represented by one of the following general formulae (2) to (8) that contains the partial structure represented by the general formula (1):
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(In the formula (2), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents an atomic group containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom; N represents a nitrogen atom of an imine group in a cyclic group; and at least one of A1 to A3 is a ligand composed of an atomic group containing a carbon atom and may be covalently bound to another one).
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(In the formula (3), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents an atomic group containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom; P represents a phosphorus atom in a phosphine compound; R1 to R3 independently or identically represent a linear, branched, or cyclic alkyl group or an aromatic ring group which may have a substituent; and at least one of A1 to A3 is a ligand composed of an atomic group containing a carbon atom and may be covalently bound to another one).
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(In the formulae (4-1) to (4-5), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents an atomic group containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom; and N—N, P—N, and P—P represent bidentate ligands in which each ligand has two coordinating atoms, where N—N contains two nitrogen atoms of an imine group, P—N contains one nitrogen atom of the imine group and one phosphorous atom, and P—P contains two phosphorous atoms).
embedded image

(In the formulae (5-1) to (5-3), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents a halogen atom; N represents a nitrogen atom in an imine group; P represents a phosphorus atom; N—N, P—N, and P—P represent multidentate ligands in which each ligand has two or more coordinating atoms, where N—N contains two nitrogen atoms of the imine group, P—N contains one nitrogen atom of the imine group and one phosphorous atom, and P—P contains two phosphorous atoms; and each of A1 and A2 represents a ligand composed of an atomic group containing a carbon atom).
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(In the formula (6), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents a halogen atom; and L1 to L4 represent monodentate coordinated with a nitrogen atom or a phosphorus atom).
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(In the formula (7), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents a halogen atom; and N represents a nitrogen atom of an imine group in a cyclic group).
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(In the formula (8), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents a halogen atom; P represents a phosphorus atom in a phosphine compound; and R1 to R3 independently or identically represent a linear, branched, or cyclic alkyl group or an aromatic ring group which may have a substituent).


Further, in the organic light-emitting device according to the present invention, the following structures are included as preferred modes:

    • the copper ion has a valence of +1;
    • the copper coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has the partial structural formula represented by the general formula (1) is a high-molecular copper coordination compound that contains two or more of the partial structure formulae at regular intervals;
    • the copper coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has the partial structural formula represented by the general formula (1) is a non-ionic copper coordination compound that is electrically neutral; and
    • the light-emitting layer contains a portion in which a content of the light-emitting material is 100%.




BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS


FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D are cross-sectional schematic diagrams that illustrate the configuration of a light-emitting device of the present invention;



FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C show luminescence spectra of compounds synthesized in examples of the present invention;



FIG. 3 shows luminescence spectra with respect to the examples of the present invention; and



FIG. 4 shows a molecular structure as a result of the crystal analysis of the exemplified compound 1253.




DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An organic light-emitting device of the present invention employs a copper coordination compound having a specific partial structural formula as a light-emitting material so that the organic light-emitting device can be cost-effectively provided with high luminescence efficiency and stable luminescence.


Hereinafter, the organic EL device of the present invention will be described in detail.


At first, the characteristics of a copper coordination compound (copper complex) as a light-emitting material of the present invention will bed described.


The copper coordination compound used in the present invention has a partial structural formula represented by the following general formula (1).
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In the formula (1), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents an atomic group containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom; and at least one of A0 to A3 is a ligand composed of an atomic group containing a carbon atom and may be covalently bound to another one.


In other words, the copper coordination compound used in the present invention is a coordination compound having a cross-linked portion with two atomic groups each containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom. A copper coordination compound cross-linked by a halogen atom is suited for a light-emitting material because of its thermal stability and high luminescence efficiency. Particularly in a solid powder state, the copper coordination compound cross-linked by a halogen atom characteristically shows higher luminescence efficiency than that of another compound. In addition, even if the copper coordination compound is cross-linked by a sulfur atom, the copper coordination compound shows high luminescence efficiency and excellent chemical stability. Besides, various kinds of copper coordination compounds may be designed by providing a ligand having a sulfur atom with any of various substituents. In general, most of compounds, which emit luminescence in their dilute solutions, generate extremely poor luminescence when they are in solid powder states. Those compounds form association products in the ground state or excited association products by the interaction between light-emitting material molecules, so that the natural luminescence properties of the compounds are no longer obtained. Such a phenomenon is known as a “concentration quenching”.


The copper coordination compound of the present invention can be a light-emitting material which is hardly subjected to the concentration quenching. Therefore, when a light-emitting layer in a light-emitting device is considered, the concentration quenching can be generally avoided by the addition of a small amount of a light-emitting material as a guest material to a host material. As the light-emitting material of the present invention is not subjected to the concentration quenching, the light-emitting layer may contain the light-emitting material in higher concentration or in 100% concentration. Therefore, the light-emitting device having high luminescence efficiency and improved productivity can be produced. In addition, the luminescence property of the light-emitting material of the present invention shows a small concentration dependence and retrains variations in production and so on. Also from this viewpoint, the light-emitting material of the present invention allows the production of a light-emitting device having high productivity.


A copper ion used as the central metal of the copper complex is preferably a positively charged monovalent copper ion. When the electron configuration of a copper atom is taken into consideration, the positively-charged monovalent copper ion contains 10 d-electrons. Generally, a transition metal having d-electrons in even number often shows good luminescence property.


The copper coordination compounds, which can be used in the present invention, are generally classified into a dimer type and a tetramer type. In addition, the dimer type is further classified into three different types 1 to 3 as follows.
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In the above formulae, Cu represents a copper atom and L1 to L4 represents ligands, respectively, where the ligands are respectively monodentate ligands independent from each other or the ligands form a multidentate ligand in which two or more coordinating atoms are covalently bound together.


X in each of the above dimer types 1 and 2 represents an atomic group that contains a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom. Two atoms or two atomic groups can cross-link a Cu atom. In addition, in the dimer type 1, a high-molecular coordination compound having any of these biding structural units can be formed. In this high-molecular copper coordination compound, X may be also an atomic group containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom.


In addition, with respect to the above dimer type 3 and the tetramer type, X is a halogen atom. In the dimer type 3, an atomic group containing a sulfur or nitrogen atom cannot be configured in three dimensions as the L3 ligand interferes with such a configuration. In the tetramer type, three bonds extend from X. Thus, a halogen atom binds to those bonds to form a coordination structure, but a nitrogen or sulfur atom or an atomic group cannot bind to those bonds.


Concretely, the compounds classified in the above dimer type 1 include copper coordination compounds having any of the partial structural formulae represented by the following general formulae (2) and (3).
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In the formula (2), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents an atomic group containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom; N represents a nitrogen atom of an imine group in a cyclic group; and at least one of A1 to A3 is a ligand composed of an atomic group containing a carbon atom and may be covalently bound to another one.
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In the formula (3), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents an atomic group containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom; P represents a phosphorus atom in a phosphine compound; R1 to R3 independently or identically represent a linear, branched, or cyclic alkyl group or an aromatic ring group which may have a substituent; and at least one of A1 to A3 is a ligand composed of an atomic group containing a carbon atom and may be covalently bound to another one.


In addition, concretely, the compounds classified in the above dimer type 2 include copper coordination compounds having any of the partial structural formulae represented by the following general formulae (4-1) to (4-5).
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In the above formulae (4-1) to (4-5), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents an atomic group containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom; and N—N, P—N, and P—P represent bidentate ligands in which each ligand has two coordinating atoms, where N—N contains two nitrogen atoms of an imine group, P—N contains one nitrogen atom of the imine group and one phosphorous atom, and P—P contains two phosphorous atoms.


In addition, concretely, the compounds classified in the above dimer type 3 include copper coordination compounds having any of the partial structural formulae represented by the following general formulae (5-1) to (5-3).
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In the formulae (5-1) to (5-3), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents a halogen atom; N represents a nitrogen atom in an imine group; and P represents a phosphorus atom; N—N, P—N, and P—P represent multidentate ligands in which each ligand has two or more coordinating atoms, where N—N contains two nitrogen atoms of the imine group, P—N contains one nitrogen atom of the imine group and one phosphorous atom, and P—P contains two phosphorous atoms.


Furthermore, concretely, the compounds classified in the above tetramer type include copper coordination compounds having any of the partial structural formulae represented by the following general formulae (7) and (8), in which A1 and A2 each represent a ligand composed of an atomic group containing a carbon atom.
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In the formula (7), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents a halogen atom; and N represents a nitrogen atom of an imine group in a cyclic group.
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In the formula (8), Cu represents a copper ion; X represents a halogen atom; P represents a phosphorus atom in a phosphine compound; and R1 to R3 independently or identically represent a linear, branched, or cyclic alkyl group or an aromatic ring group which may have a substituent.


The ligand in the partial structural formula represented by each of the above general formulae (1) to (8) will be now described.


(1) Basic structural examples of an N—N ligand will be listed below.
embedded imageembedded imageembedded imageembedded image


In the present invention, the N—N-ligand can be used without modification or after the addition of a substituent on the above structural formula. Each of the above basic structures may contain a condensed ring group or a substituent. The substituent may be a halogen atom, a linear, branched, or cyclic alkyl group, or an aromatic group which may have a substituent. A CH2 group of the alkyl group may be substituted with —O— or —NR— (wherein R is an alkyl group or an aromatic ring group which may be substituted), and an H atom may be substituted with an aromatic ring group or a halogen atom.


The above N—N ligand contains two imine groups. Now, examples of ligands having substituents on their basic skeletons will be listed below.
embedded imageembedded imageembedded imageembedded image


(2) Examples of the basic configuration of the P—N ligand will be listed below. The ligand contains one imine group and one phosphorus atom.
embedded imageembedded image


(3) Examples of the basic configuration of the P—P ligand will be listed below. The ligand contains two phosphorus atoms. In addition, the P—P ligand may have the same substituent as that of the N—N ligand mentioned in (1).
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(4) Examples of an R3R2R1P ligand (monodentate ligand having one phosphorous atom) will be listed below.
embedded imageembedded imageembedded imageembedded imageembedded image


(5) Examples of a monodentate ligand having one nitrogen atom of an imine group in a cyclic group will be listed below.
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Furthermore, a high-molecular copper coordination compound as described below may be used in the present invention. In each of the following structural formulae, R represents one of alkyl, phenyl, aralkyl, and alkoxy groups.
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The high-molecular copper coordination compounds has a ligand having two imine groups in one molecule. In the formulae, X represents an atomic group containing a halogen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom. In the present invention, the high-molecular copper coordination compound refers to one having an average molecular weight of 3,000 or more. The high-molecular copper coordination compound may be suitably applied to a method in which such a compound is dissolved in a solvent and then subjected to the formation of a thin film by means of a spin coat method, inkjet method, or the like.


Furthermore, in the present invention, examples of the copper coordination compound where an atomic group containing a sulfur atom or a nitrogen atom as X of the dimer type 1 or 2 will be described below. In the following examples, the atomic group containing a nitrogen atom is a bidentate ligand containing a coordinate nitrogen atom. In the following structural formulae, Ph represents a phenyl group.
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The copper coordination compound preferably used in the present invention is a non-ionic copper coordination compound which is electrically neutral. Thus, an ionic copper coordination compound requires a counter anion to be paired therewith. If they are employed in an organic EL device, they often hinder charge transport.


The configuration of the copper coordination compound can be determined using X-ray structure analysis.


The minimum excitation state of luminescence of the copper coordination compound to be used in the present invention may be one of the three different types described below, or may be a combined state thereof.

    • MLCT (metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer) excitation state
    • CC (cluster canter) excitation state
    • XLCT (halogen-to-ligand-charge-transfer) excitation state.


The contents of the excitation states are described in detail in Chemical Review, 1999, 99 p. 3625-3647. Even though it is difficult to specify each excitation state on each coordination compound, strong luminescence can be determined from the excitation state of the luminescence.


For attaining high luminescence efficiency, it is important to make the configuration of a ligand so as to prevent structural variations between the ground state and the excitation state. The coordination structure of Cu(I) is a pseudo-tetrahedral configuration having four coordination linkages. Higher luminescence is attained when the tetrahedral structure in the ground state is kept in the excitation state. For example, a phenanthroline ligand having two alkyl groups substituted at the positions 2 and 9 (N—N ligand having the chemical formulae 11: 301-308) has an advantage of retaining a pseudo-tetrahedral structure in the ground state even in the excitation state, thereby obtaining high luminescence property. Similarly in the case of a ligand having a pyridine ring, luminescence can be obtained more strongly when a hydrogen atom adjacent to a nitrogen atom is substituted with an alkyl group or the like. The tetrahedral structure, which tends to become a planar structure in the excitation state, retains a generally tetrahedral structure even in the excitation state by substituting with a bulky substituent.


The same holds true for a P—N ligand or P—P ligand, which contains a phosphorous atom, represented by the chemical formulae 12 or 13. In particular, an aromatic ring group bound to a phosphorous atom (for example, a phenyl, pyridine, or thienyl group) is very bulky, so that it will be effective in preventing flattening in the excitation manner.


In the copper coordination compound of the present invention, the above structural variations can be prevented in a solid rather than a solution, so that the copper coordination compound may provide strong luminescence. This is one of the reasons that the copper coordination compound in a solid state generates luminescence well.


Another reason is that the formation of an additional coordination structure occurs in a solution and the resulting structure may have the coordination number 5 which do not generate strong luminescence. Such a reaction of attaining the coordination number 5 is hardly obtained as a molecular movement is being restricted in a solid. Therefore, strong luminescence can be generated in a solid.


In addition, the powder solid of the copper coordination compound of the present invention has a luminescence lifetime of 0.05 to 50 μsec.


An aluminum quinolinol derivative, coumarin derivative, quinacridone derivative, or the like used until now allows the generation of very strong luminescence and retains its strong luminescence property in a solid dispersion without modification. This property also acts effectively in an organic EL device, thereby attaining high luminescence efficiency of the organic EL device.


However, the copper coordination compound used in the present invention shows very strong luminescence in a solid, compared with luminescence in a solution. The inventors of the present invention have considered the property of the copper coordination compound and found out that the copper coordination compound is useful as a light-emitting material of an organic EL device with high luminescence efficiency and stable luminescence.


The copper coordination compound used in the present invention is useful as a light-emitting material of an organic EL device. To say nothing of having high luminescence efficiency, the copper coordination compound is suitable for various kinds of coating methods including: a vacuum deposition process; a spin coat process in which the compound is prepared as a solution and then applied to; and a coating process with inkjet nozzles. Therefore, an organic EL device can be formed without causing any damage such as decomposition in a device production process.


Hereinafter, concrete examples of the copper coordination compound used in the present invention will be described.

TABLE 1-1Dimer type 2ExemplifiedcompoundNo.L1L2X1001301301I1002302302I1003303303I1004304304I1005305305I1006306306I1007307307I1008308308I1009309309I1010310310I1011311311I1012312312I1013313313I1014314314I1015315315I1016316316I1017317317I1018318318I1019401401I1020402402I1021403403I1022404404I1023405405I1024406406I1025407407I1026408408I1027409409I1028410410I1029411411I1030412412I1031501501I1032502502I1033503503I1034504504I1035505505I1036506506I1037301403I1038302403I1039303403I1040304403I1041305403I1042306403I1043307403I1044308403I1045309403I1046310403I1047311403I1048312403I1049313403I1050314403I1051315403I1052316403I1053317403I1054318403I1055401403I1056402403I1057403403I1058404403I1059405403I1060406403I1061407403I1062408403I1063409403I1064410403I1065411403I1066412403I1067301503I1068302503I1069303503I1070304503I1071305503I1072306503I1073307503I1074308503I1075309503I1076310503I1077311503I1078312503I1079313503I1080314503I1081315503I1082316503I1083317503I1084318503I1085401503I1086402503I1087403503I1088404503I1089405503I1090406503I









TABLE 1-2










Dimer type 2










Exemplified





compound


No.
L1
L2
X





1091
407
503
I


1092
408
503
I


1093
409
503
I


1094
410
503
I


1095
411
503
I


1096
412
503
I


1097
301
504
I


1098
302
504
I


1099
303
504
I


1100
304
504
I


1101
305
504
I


1102
306
504
I


1103
307
504
I


1104
308
504
I


1105
309
504
I


1106
310
504
I


1107
311
504
I


1108
312
504
I


1109
313
504
I


1110
314
504
I


1111
315
504
I


1112
316
504
I


1113
317
504
I


1114
318
504
I


1115
401
504
I


1116
402
504
I


1117
403
504
I


1118
404
504
I


1119
405
504
I


1120
406
504
I


1121
407
504
I


1122
408
504
I


1123
409
504
I


1124
410
504
I


1125
411
504
I


1126
412
504
I


1127
301
301
Br


1128
302
302
Br


1129
303
303
Br


1130
304
304
Br


1131
305
305
Br


1132
306
306
Br


1133
307
307
Br


1134
308
308
Br


1135
309
309
Br


1136
310
310
Br


1137
311
311
Br


1138
312
312
Br


1139
313
313
Br


1140
314
314
Br


1141
315
315
Br


1142
316
316
Br


1143
317
317
Br


1144
318
318
Br


1145
401
401
Br


1146
402
402
Br


1147
403
403
Br


1148
404
404
Br


1149
405
405
Br


1150
406
406
Br


1151
407
407
Br


1152
408
408
Br


1153
409
409
Br


1154
410
410
Br


1155
411
411
Br


1156
412
412
Br


1157
501
501
Br


1158
502
502
Br


1159
503
503
Br


1160
504
504
Br


1161
505
505
Br


1162
506
506
Br


1163
301
403
Br


1164
302
403
Br


1165
303
403
Br


1166
304
403
Br


1167
305
403
Br


1168
306
403
Br


1169
307
403
Br


1170
308
403
Br


1171
309
403
Br


1172
310
403
Br


1173
311
403
Br


1174
312
403
Br


1175
313
403
Br


1176
314
403
Br


1177
315
403
Br


1178
316
403
Br


1179
317
403
Br


1180
318
403
Br


1181
401
403
Br


1182
402
403
Br


1183
403
403
Br


1184
404
403
Br


1185
405
403
Br


1186
406
403
Br


1187
407
403
Br


1188
408
403
Br


1189
409
403
Br


1190
410
403
Br
















TABLE 1-3










Dimer type 2










Exemplified





compound


No.
L1
L2
X





1191
411
403
Br


1192
412
403
Br


1193
301
503
Br


1194
302
503
Br


1195
303
503
Br


1196
304
503
Br


1197
305
503
Br


1198
306
503
Br


1199
307
503
Br


1200
308
503
Br


1201
309
503
Br


1202
310
503
Br


1203
311
503
Br


1204
312
503
Br


1205
313
503
Br


1206
314
503
Br


1207
315
503
Br


1208
316
503
Br


1209
317
503
Br


1210
318
503
Br


1211
401
503
Br


1212
402
503
Br


1213
403
503
Br


1214
404
503
Br


1215
405
503
Br


1216
406
503
Br


1217
407
503
Br


1218
408
503
Br


1219
409
503
Br


1220
410
503
Br


1221
411
503
Br


1222
412
503
Br


1223
301
504
Br


1224
302
504
Br


1225
303
504
Br


1226
304
504
Br


1227
305
504
Br


1228
306
504
Br


1229
307
504
Br


1230
308
504
Br


1231
309
504
Br


1232
310
504
Br


1233
311
504
Br


1234
312
504
Br


1235
313
504
Br


1236
314
504
Br


1237
315
504
Br


1238
316
504
Br


1239
317
504
Br


1240
318
504
Br


1241
401
504
Br


1242
402
504
Br


1243
403
504
Br


1244
404
504
Br


1245
405
504
Br


1246
406
504
Br


1247
407
504
Br


1248
408
504
Br


1249
409
504
Br


1250
410
504
Br


1251
411
504
Br


1252
412
504
Br


1253
504
504
Cl
















TABLE 2










Dimer type 1












Exemplified






compound



No.
L1 = L3
L2 = L4
X







2001
601
701
I



2002
602
701
I



2003
603
701
I



2004
604
701
I



2005
605
701
I



2006
606
701
I



2007
607
701
I



2008
608
701
I



2009
609
701
I



2010
610
701
I



2011
611
701
I



2012
612
701
I



2013
613
701
I



2014
614
701
I



2015
615
701
I



2016
616
701
I



2017
617
701
I



2018
618
701
I



2019
619
701
I



2020
620
701
I



2021
621
701
I



2022
622
701
I



2023
623
701
I



2024
624
701
I



2025
601
702
I



2026
601
703
I



2027
601
704
I



2028
601
705
I



2029
601
706
I



2030
601
707
I



2031
601
708
I



2032
601
709
I



2033
601
710
I



2034
602
705
I



2035
603
705
I



2036
604
705
I



2037
605
705
I



2038
606
705
I



2039
607
705
I



2040
608
705
I



2041
609
705
I



2042
610
705
I



2043
611
705
I



2044
612
705
I



2045
613
705
I



2046
614
705
I



2047
615
705
I



2048
616
705
I



2049
617
705
I



2050
618
705
I



2051
619
705
I



2052
620
705
I



2053
621
705
I



2054
622
705
I



2055
623
705
I



2056
624
705
I

















TABLE 3-1










Dimer type 3










Exemplified





compound


No.
L1 = L2
L3
X





3001
601
201
I


3002
602
201
I


3003
603
201
I


3004
604
201
I


3005
605
201
I


3006
606
201
I


3007
607
201
I


3008
608
201
I


3009
609
201
I


3010
610
201
I


3011
611
201
I


3012
612
201
I


3013
613
201
I


3014
614
201
I


3015
615
201
I


3016
616
201
I


3017
617
201
I


3018
618
201
I


3019
619
201
I


3020
620
201
I


3021
621
201
I


3022
622
201
I


3023
623
201
I


3024
624
201
I


3025
601
202
I


3026
602
202
I


3027
603
202
I


3028
604
202
I


3029
605
202
I


3030
606
202
I


3031
607
202
I


3032
608
202
I


3033
609
202
I


3034
610
202
I


3035
611
202
I


3036
612
202
I


3037
613
202
I


3038
614
202
I


3039
615
202
I


3040
616
202
I


3041
617
202
I


3042
618
202
I


3043
619
202
I


3044
620
202
I


3045
621
202
I


3046
622
202
I


3047
623
202
I


3048
624
202
I


3049
601
211
I


3050
602
211
I


3051
603
211
I


3052
604
211
I


3053
605
211
I


3054
606
211
I


3055
607
211
I


3056
608
211
I


3057
609
211
I


3058
610
211
I


3059
611
211
I


3060
612
211
I


3061
613
211
I


3062
614
211
I


3063
615
211
I


3064
616
211
I


3065
617
211
I


3066
618
211
I


3067
619
211
I


3068
620
211
I


3069
621
211
I


3070
622
211
I


3071
623
211
I


3072
624
211
I


3073
701
501
I


3074
702
501
I


3075
703
501
I


3076
704
501
I


3077
705
501
I


3078
706
501
I


3079
707
501
I


3080
708
501
I


3081
601
401
I


3082
602
401
I


3083
603
401
I


3084
604
401
I


3085
605
401
I


3086
606
401
I


3087
607
401
I


3088
608
401
I


3089
609
401
I


3090
610
401
I


3091
611
401
I


3092
612
401
I


3093
613
401
I


3094
614
401
I


3095
615
401
I


3096
616
401
I


3097
617
401
I


3098
618
401
I


3099
619
401
I


3100
620
401
I


3101
621
401
I


3102
622
401
I


3103
623
401
I


3104
624
401
I


3105
701
401
I


3106
702
401
I


3107
703
401
I


3108
704
401
I


3109
705
401
I


3110
706
401
I


3111
707
401
I


3112
708
401
I


3113
601
201
Br


3114
602
201
Br


3115
603
201
Br


3116
604
201
Br


3117
605
201
Br


3118
606
201
Br


3119
607
201
Br


3120
608
201
Br
















TABLE 3-2










Dimer type 3










Exemplified





compound


No.
L1 = L2
L3
X





3121
609
201
Br


3122
610
201
Br


3123
611
201
Br


3124
612
201
Br


3125
613
201
Br


3126
614
201
Br


3127
615
201
Br


3128
616
201
Br


3129
617
201
Br


3130
618
201
Br


3131
619
201
Br


3132
620
201
Br


3133
621
201
Br


3134
622
201
Br


3135
623
201
Br


3136
624
201
Br


3137
601
202
Br


3138
602
202
Br


3139
603
202
Br


3140
604
202
Br


3141
605
202
Br


3142
606
202
Br


3143
607
202
Br


3144
608
202
Br


3145
609
202
Br


3146
610
202
Br


3147
611
202
Br


3148
612
202
Br


3149
613
202
Br


3150
614
202
Br


3151
615
202
Br


3152
616
202
Br


3153
617
202
Br


3154
618
202
Br


3155
619
202
Br


3156
620
202
Br


3157
621
202
Br


3158
622
202
Br


3159
623
202
Br


3160
624
202
Br


3161
601
211
Br


3162
602
211
Br


3163
603
211
Br


3164
604
211
Br


3165
605
211
Br


3166
606
211
Br


3167
607
211
Br


3168
608
211
Br


3169
609
211
Br


3170
610
211
Br


3171
611
211
Br


3172
612
211
Br


3173
613
211
Br


3174
614
211
Br


3175
615
211
Br


3176
616
211
Br


3177
617
211
Br


3178
618
211
Br


3179
619
211
Br


3180
620
211
Br


3181
621
211
Br


3182
622
211
Br


3183
623
211
Br


3184
624
211
Br


3185
701
501
Br


3186
702
501
Br


3187
703
501
Br


3188
704
501
Br


3189
705
501
Br


3190
706
501
Br


3191
707
501
Br


3192
708
501
Br


3193
601
401
Br


3194
602
401
Br


3195
603
401
Br


3196
604
401
Br


3197
605
401
Br


3198
606
401
Br


3199
607
401
Br


3200
608
401
Br


3201
609
401
Br


3202
610
401
Br


3203
611
401
Br


3204
612
401
Br


3205
613
401
Br


3206
614
401
Br


3207
615
401
Br


3208
616
401
Br


3209
617
401
Br


3210
618
401
Br


3211
619
401
Br


3212
620
401
Br


3213
621
401
Br


3214
622
401
Br


3215
623
401
Br


3216
624
401
Br


3217
701
401
Br


3218
702
401
Br


3219
703
401
Br


3220
704
401
Br


3221
705
401
Br


3222
706
401
Br


3223
707
401
Br


3224
708
401
Br


3225
601
201
Cl


3226
602
201
Cl


3227
603
201
Cl


3228
604
201
Cl


3229
605
201
Cl


3230
606
201
Cl


3231
607
201
Cl


3232
608
201
Cl


3233
609
201
Cl


3234
610
201
Cl


3235
611
201
Cl


3236
612
201
Cl


3244
620
201
Cl


3245
621
201
Cl


3246
622
201
Cl


3247
623
201
Cl


3248
624
201
Cl


3249
601
202
Cl


3250
602
202
Cl


3251
603
202
Cl


3252
604
202
Cl


3253
605
202
Cl


3262
614
202
Cl


3263
615
202
Cl


3264
616
202
Cl


3265
617
202
Cl
















TABLE 3-3










Dimer type 3












Exemplified






compound



No.
L1 = L2
L3
X







3266
618
202
Cl



3267
619
202
Cl



3268
620
202
Cl



3269
621
202
Cl



3270
622
202
Cl



3271
623
202
Cl



3272
624
202
Cl



3273
601
211
Cl



3274
602
211
Cl



3275
603
211
Cl



3276
604
211
Cl



3277
605
211
Cl



3278
606
211
Cl



3279
607
211
Cl



3280
608
211
Cl



3281
609
211
Cl



3282
610
211
Cl



3283
611
211
Cl



3284
612
211
Cl



3285
613
211
Cl



3286
614
211
Cl



3287
615
211
Cl



3288
616
211
Cl



3289
617
211
Cl



3290
618
211
Cl



3291
619
211
Cl



3292
620
211
Cl



3293
621
211
Cl



3294
622
211
Cl



3295
623
211
Cl



3296
624
211
Cl



3297
701
501
Cl



3298
702
501
Cl



3299
703
501
Cl



3300
704
501
Cl



3301
705
501
Cl



3302
706
501
Cl



3303
707
501
Cl



3304
708
501
Cl



3305
601
401
Cl



3306
602
401
Cl



3307
603
401
Cl



3308
604
401
Cl



3309
605
401
Cl



3310
606
401
Cl



3311
607
401
Cl



3312
608
401
Cl



3313
609
401
Cl



3315
611
401
Cl



3316
612
401
Cl



3317
613
401
Cl



3318
614
401
Cl



3319
615
401
Cl



3320
616
401
Cl



3321
617
401
Cl



3322
618
401
Cl



3323
619
401
Cl



3324
620
401
Cl



3325
621
401
Cl

















TABLE 4










Tetramer type











Exemplified





compound



No.
L1 = L2 = L3 = L4
X







4001
601
I



4002
602
I



4003
603
I



4004
604
I



4005
605
I



4006
606
I



4007
607
I



4008
608
I



4009
609
I



4010
610
I



4011
611
I



4012
612
I



4013
613
I



4014
614
I



4015
615
I



4016
616
I



4017
617
I



4018
618
I



4019
619
I



4020
620
I



4021
621
I



4022
622
I



4023
623
I



4024
624
I



4025
701
I



4026
702
I



4027
703
I



4028
704
I



4029
705
I



4030
706
I



4031
707
I



4032
708
I



4033
601
Br



4034
602
Br



4035
603
Br



4036
604
Br



4037
605
Br



4038
606
Br



4039
607
Br



4040
608
Br



4041
609
Br



4042
610
Br



4043
611
Br



4044
612
Br



4045
613
Br



4046
614
Br



4047
615
Br



4048
616
Br



4049
617
Br



4050
618
Br



4051
619
Br



4052
620
Br



4053
621
Br



4054
622
Br



4055
623
Br



4056
624
Br



4057
701
Br



4058
702
Br



4059
703
Br



4060
704
Br



4061
705
Br



4062
706
Br



4063
707
Br



4064
708
Br



4065
601
Cl



4066
602
Cl



4067
603
Cl



4068
604
Cl



4069
605
Cl



4070
606
Cl



4071
607
Cl



4072
608
Cl



4073
609
Cl



4074
610
Cl



4075
611
Cl



4076
612
Cl



4077
613
Cl



4078
614
Cl



4079
615
Cl



4080
616
Cl



4081
617
Cl



4082
618
Cl



4083
619
Cl



4084
620
Cl



4085
621
Cl



4086
622
Cl



4087
623
Cl



4088
624
Cl



4089
701
Cl



4090
702
Cl



4091
703
Cl



4092
704
Cl



4093
705
Cl



4094
706
Cl



4095
707
Cl



4096
708
Cl










A synthetic process of the metal coordination compound used in the present invention will be exemplified below.

2L+2CuI→LCu(μI)2CuL  (A)
L1+L2+2CuI→L1Cu(μI)2CuL2(C)4L=4CuI→(CuIL)4  (B)
embedded image


The reaction formulae (A) and (B) are synthetic processes for the dimer type 2 represented by the formulae 9. In the reaction formula (A), a metal coordination compound is prepared from the same type of ligands. In the reaction formula (B), on the other hand, a metal coordination compound is prepared from different ligands. Here, L, L1, and L2 represent bidentate ligands represented by the formulae 10 to 12, respectively, in each of which a nitrogen atom or a phosphorous atom is coordinated with a metal. In the formula, “Cu(μI)2Cu” means a structure in which two copper atoms are crosslinked by two iodine atoms. For example, the binding form in which X in the dimer type 1 or 2 in the formulae 9 is replaced with an iodine atom will be shown. In a synthetic process, a copper iodide (1 mmol) is added to 20 ml of toluene or tetrahydrofuran. Then, a ligand is added to a mixture at a ratio represented in the reaction formula, followed by mixing and stirring. Subsequently, a reaction mixture is refluxed for 1 to 2 hours to complete the reaction. The resulting reaction solution is cooled down to the room temperature, whereby the precipitation of a target material is observed. Then, the precipitate is collected and washed with the same solvent as that of the reaction.


The reaction formula (C) is a synthetic process of the tetramer type represented by the formulae 9 and L in the formula is a monodentate ligand represented by the formulae 14 or 15. The reaction solvent or the like may be prepared by the same procedures represented in the reaction formulae (A) and (B) described above.


The reaction formula (D) is a synthetic process of the dimer type 1 represented by the formulae 9. The ligand L′ and CuBr are mixed in acetonitrile under stirring. Subsequently, the reaction product, the compound (a), is isolated through filtration and then added with another ligand L″ in the presence of chloroform, thereby obtaining the compound (b).


Next, the light-emitting device of the present invention will be described. The characteristic of the light-emitting device of the present invention is to contain the copper coordination compound described above as a light-emitting material in a light-emitting layer. In particular, the light-emitting layer preferably contains the copper coordination compound in a concentration of 100% by part.


The basic configuration of the organic EL device of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1A to 1D, respectively. In the figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a metal electrode, 2 denotes a light-emitting layer, 3 denotes a hole transporting layer, 4 denotes a transparent electrode, 5 denotes a transparent substrate, and 6 denotes an electron transporting layer.


As shown in FIGS. 1A to 1D, in general, an organic EL device is prepared by stacking a layered structure, in which a single organic layer or plural organic layers is/are sandwiched between the transparent electrode 4 and the metal electrode 1, on the transparent substrate 5.



FIG. 1A shows the simplest configuration of the organic EL device, where the organic layer is constructed only of the light-emitting layer 2. In FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C, the organic layer is composed of two layers: the light-emitting layer 2 and the hole transporting layer 3 and the light-emitting layer 2 and the charge transporting layer 6, respectively. In FIG. 1D, the organic layer is composed of three layers: the hole transporting layer 3, the light-emitting layer 2, and the charge transporting layer 6.


An aluminum quinolinol complex or the like (a typical example thereof is Alq shown below) having charge transporting property and luminescence property is used for the light-emitting layer 2. For example, a triphenylamine derivative (a typical example thereof is α-NPD shown below) is mainly used for the hole transporting layer 3. Alternatively, the hole transporting layer 3 may be made of a polymer such as PVK, which has hole transporting property and shows blue EL luminescence itself. An oxadiazole derivative or the like, or Alq, Bphen, or BCP shown below may be used for the charge transporting layer 6.
embedded image


EXAMPLES 1 TO 9

The following compounds were prepared according the reaction formulae (A) to (C), respectively. Also, the constructions of the respective compounds were identified through 1H-NMR (Bruker DPX-400NMR) and elemental analysis (Vario EL CHNOS). In the elemental analysis, the measured value of the element weight ratio of CHN was in good agreement to the calculated value of the element weight ratio of CHN within 0.5% or less error.


In addition, the luminescence property of each compound was measured by means of photoexcitation. Luminescence spectra were measured using F4500 manufactured by Hitachi Instruments Service Co., Ltd. (excitation wavelengths from 350 to 450 nm). All measurements were done in the solid powder state. Luminescent colors ranged from blue green to red. The results of the measurement on luminescence spectrum are listed in Table 5 below.

TABLE 5LuminescenceExemplifiedwavelength ofExamplescompound No.solid powderHalf band width11001636 nm21002632 nm109 nm31035480 nm 98 nm41038506 nm 78 nm51098629 nm155 nm61068649 nm121 nm74001540 nm84005536 nm94025580 nm


In the Table 1, “-” corresponds to a half band width of 100 to 150 nm.


The luminescence spectra of the exemplified compounds 1002, 1138, and 4005 used in Examples 2, 4, and 8 were shown as examples of the luminescence spectra in FIGS. 2A to 2C, respectively. All of them generate luminescence well in the solid state, so that they can be stable compounds under general circumferences at ordinary temperatures.


EXAMPLES 10 TO 12

Organic EL devices were prepared using as light-emitting materials the exemplified compounds 1002, 1138, and 4005 synthesized in Examples 2, 4, and 8, respectively.


The configuration of a device having three organic layers shown in FIG. 1D was employed as a configuration of the organic EL device. More specifically, on a glass substrate (i.e., the transparent substrate 5), ITO (transparent electrode 4) of 100 nm in thickness was patterned so as to have an electrode area of 3.14 mm2.


On the ITO substrate, PEDOT (for organic EL) manufactured by Bayer AG was applied in 40 nm in film thickness by means of spin coating at a speed of 1,000 rpm (20 seconds). Then, the resulting coating was dried at 120° C. for 1 hour in a vacuum chamber. On the resulting layered product, subsequently, a solution, which contained 10 g of chlorobenzene, 92 mg of polyvinyl carbazole (an average molecular weight of 9,600), and 8 mg of the exemplified compound 1002, 1138, or 4005, was applied by means of a spin coating at 2,000 rpm for 20 sec under nitrogen atmosphere, thereby obtaining an organic film (light emitting layer 2) of 50 nm in thickness.


After the film formation, the substrate was dried under the same condition as that of the film formation of PEDOT. The substrate was then mounted on a vacuum deposition chamber to form a Bphen film of 40 nm in film thickness by means of vacuum deposition. Therefore, the resulting organic layer had a total film thickness of 130 nm.


Subsequently, a cathode (metal electrode 1) having the following composition was formed:

    • Metal electrode layer 1 (15 nm): AlLi alloy (Li content of 1.8% by mass); and
    • Metal electrode 2 (100 nm): Al.


After completion of the film formation, the device was removed and evaluations were then conducted.


The properties of the device were evaluated by applying a DC voltage while making the metal electrode 1 negative and the transparent electrode 4 positive.


The voltage-current property of the organic layer showed good rectification property. The emission spectrum and luminescence intensity were measured using spectrum analyzers SR1 and BM7, manufactured by Topcon Corp. The current value at the time of voltage application was measured by 4140Bd manufactured by Hewlett-Packard. The luminescence efficiency was calculated from the luminescence intensity and the measured current value. For EL luminescence, good luminescence was observed at a luminescence of 200 cd/cm2 and good luminescence was retained even after 10 hours of current application. The results are shown in Table 6.


EXAMPLE 13

A light-emitting device was prepared by the same way as that of Example 12, except for a light-emitting layer. In this example, the light-emitting layer was prepared in a film thickness of 30 nm using 100% by mass of the exemplified compound 4005 by means of spin coating. For EL luminescence, good luminescence was observed at a luminescence of 200 cd/cm2 and good luminescence was retained even after 10 hours of current application. Therefore, it was found that the light-emitting device with higher luminescence efficiency than that of Example 12 can be attained by the formation of a light-emitting layer with 100% content of the exemplified compound 4005. The results are shown in Table 6.


EXAMPLE 14

In this example, all organic layers were prepared using a vacuum deposition process to complete an organic EL device. The material of the hole transporting layer 3 was α-NPD and the material of the light-emitting layer 2 was the exemplified compound 1002 synthesized in Example 2 in content of 100% by mass. In addition, the material of the charge transporting layer 6 was BPhen. Each of those layers was 40 nm in thickness.


The electro-optical property of the light-emitting device of this example was measured to show that a peak luminescence wavelength was 642 nm at the time of 10 V application. At this time, the light-emitting device had a luminescence efficiency of 0.8 cd/A, resulting in stable luminescence. Therefore, it was found that the light-emitting device with higher luminescence efficiency than that of Example 10 can be attained by the formation of a light-emitting layer with 100% content of the exemplified compound 1002. The results are shown in Table 6.

TABLE 6Currentvalue atNo. ofthe time ofexemplifiedELLuminescence8 VcompoundLight-luminescenceefficiencyapplicationExamplesusedemitting layerwavelength(cd/A)(mA/cm2)1010021002 of 8% by640 nm0.541mass in PVK1111381138 of 8% by520 nm2.211mass in PVK1240054005 of 8% by550 nm2.89mass in PVK1340054005 of 100%565 nm4.161by mass1410021002 of 100%642 nm0.825by mass


EXAMPLES 15 TO 17

Each of these examples is an example of a two-nuclei metal coordination compound (exemplified compound 1034, 1160, or 1253) using a ligand 504 represented in the formulae 13 as a bidentate ligand. Among the examples of the synthetic process of the metal coordination compound to be used in the present invention, the process of the reaction formula (A) was used to synthesize a desired compound. The synthesized compounds were excellent in thermal stability and had subliming property, so that each of them was purified by sublimation purification under a vacuum pressure of 10−1 Pa. The identification of the compound was performed using element analysis and X-ray crystal analysis. The element analysis was conducted using an element analyzer Vario EL CHNOS (manufactured by Elementar Co., Ltd.). The X-ray crystal analysis was performed using crystals formed at the time of sublimation purification and a RAXIS RAPID imaging plate (manufactured by Rigakusha). In this case, X ray used was a MoKα ray (λ=0.71069 Å) which was converted into monochrome color though a graphite monochromator. The molecular structure as a result of crystal analysis on the exemplified compound 1253 was shown in FIG. 4.


Furthermore, the peak luminescence wavelength of the luminescence spectrum in the solid powder state and the luminescence lifetime are shown in FIG. 3. In the figure, from the left side, the curves correspond to the luminescence spectra of the exemplified compounds 1034, 1160, and 1191, respectively.

TABLE 7LuminescenceLuminescenceExemplifiedwavelengthlifetimeExample No.compound No.nmμsec1510345023.91611605184.21712535334.3


As described above, the exemplified compounds 1034, 1160, and 1253 are excellent in thermal stability and are capable of generating strong luminescence at wavelength regions from green to yellow green in the solid states.


EXAMPLES 18 TO 21

In these examples, organic LED devices were prepared using the exemplified compounds 1034 and 1253 synthesized in Examples 15 and 17 by means of a vacuum deposition process. The device configuration employed a compound represented by the formulae 19. In other words, the configuration was “NPD (50 nm)/CBP: Cu coordination compound (10%) (20 nm, 60 nm)/Bphen (40 nm)”. For an electrode, ITO was used on the NPD side, while Al was used on the Bphen side. In addition, 5 nm of potassium fluoride (KF) was layered as an electron injection layer between the Bphen and Al electrodes. For the light-emitting layer, the devices were prepared respectively using two different films having thicknesses of 20 nm and 60 nm. The organic LED devices of the examples showed good rectification property. The data on current-voltage-current-brightness provides the following results. The luminescence spectra of the examples showed longer wavelengths than those of the luminescence spectra in the solid state shown in Examples 15 and 17. In addition, it is also found that the wavelength is longer as the light-emitting layer is thicker.

TABLE 8Exempli-ThicknessPowerCurrentLumi-Exam-fiedof light-effi-effi-nescenceplecompoundemittingciencyciencywave-No.No.layer nmlm/Wcd/Alength nm181034204.57545191034602.16.4565201253203.97.2585211253600.45600


Each of the copper coordination compounds of Examples 15 and 17 was used as a luminescence dopant in an organic LED device. Consequently, an organic LED device having high luminescence efficiency was obtained.


This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-343157 filed on Oct. 1, 2003, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-267705 filed on Sep. 15, 2004, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Claims
  • 1. An organic light-emitting device, comprising a copper coordination compound having a partial structural formula represented by the following general formula (1) as a light-emitting material:
  • 2. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a copper coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has a partial structural formula represented by the following general formula (2) that contains the partial structure represented by the general formula (1):
  • 3. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a copper coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has a partial structural formula represented by the following general formula (3) that contains the partial structure represented by the general formula (1):
  • 4. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a copper coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has one of partial structural formulae represented by the following general formulae (4-1) to (4-5) that contain the partial structures represented by the general formula (1):
  • 5. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a copper coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has one of partial structural formulae represented by the following general formulae (5-1) to (5-3) that contain the partial structures represented by the general formula (1):
  • 6. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a copper coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has a partial structural formula represented by the following general formula (6) that contains the partial structure represented by the general formula (1):
  • 7. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 6, wherein a copper coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has a partial structural formula represented by the following general formula (7) that contains the partial structure represented by the general formula (1):
  • 8. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 6, wherein a metal coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has a partial structural formula represented by the following general formula (8) that contains the partial structure represented by the general formula (1):
  • 9. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the copper ion has a valence of +1.
  • 10. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the copper coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has the partial structural formula represented by the general formula (1) comprises a high-molecular copper coordination compound that contains two or more of the partial structure formulae at regular intervals.
  • 11. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the copper coordination compound is used as a light-emitting material, which has the partial structural formula represented by the general formula (1) comprises a non-ionic copper coordination compound that is electrically neutral.
  • 12. The organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting layer contains a portion in which a content of the light-emitting material is 100%.
Priority Claims (2)
Number Date Country Kind
2003-343157 (PAT. Oct 2003 JP national
2004-267705 (PAT. Sep 2004 JP national