Synthesis of fluorinated organic and organometallic electroluminescentmaterials: tuning emission in the blue

Functionalization with fluorine atoms represents a versatile structural modification to finely tune both the emission colour and the electronic properties of organic and organometallic electroluminescent compounds. This paper reports an overview of our systematic investigation on the design and synthesis of the fluorinated version of two important classes of materials for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), namely poly(arylenevinylene)s and phosphorescent phenylpyridine Iridium complexes. Synthetic pathways based on organometallic methodologies affording selectively fluorinated molecular structures will be discussed together with a summary of the effect of fluorination on the optical properties of the resulting materials. In particular we will highlight the possibilities offered by the organometallic methodologies as straightforward and resourceful tools to provide a wide series of fluorinated molecular architectures with high regio- and stereoselectivity, mild experimental conditions and good yields.