Two neutral pyrazolato diimine rhenium(I) carbonyl complexes with formula [Re(CO)
3(N-N)(btpz)] where N-N =2,2'-bipyridine (
1) and 1,10-phenanathroline (
2), and btpz = 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl) pyrazolate, were synthesizedand characterized by elemental analysis, routine spectroscopic methods, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction study.Ground and excited state properties of these complexes were investigated by steady-state and time-resolvedspectroscopies. Complexes
1 and
2 show photoluminescent emission in both solution and solid-state at roomtemperature, arising from metal to ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) transition with strong overlapping of intraligand
* transitions. The long-lived excited state lifetimes of complexes
1 and
2, which are on the order ofmicroseconds, indicate the presence of phosphorescent emission. As these complexes hold the potential to serveas phosphors for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), their electroluminescent performances were evaluated byemploying them as dopants of various electron transport layer (ETL) or hole transport layer (HTL) hosts. Forcomplex
1, a green electrophosphorescence emission centered at
max = 530 nm was observed at low turn-onvoltage (~6 V) with luminous power efficiency of 0.72 lm/W, external quantum efficiency of 0.82%, and luminanceof 2300 cd/m
2 at a current density of 100 mA/cm
2.