Tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (Alq3 for short) is a coordination complex of aluminum(III) and the anion of 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ). The nitrogen and oxygen atoms of 8-HQ are coordinated to the aluminum atom so that the complex takes an octahedral configuration. Alq3 has two isomers, meridional (mer, the 3-D structure on the left) and facial (fac, right). Each isomer forms multiple crystalline phases.
Alq3鈥檚 principal application is in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). It is relatively inexpensive to make and has been used since the 1980s in devices that require fluorescent green light. It was later discovered that聽mer-Alq3 gives the green fluorescence;聽fac-Alq3 alone fluoresces blue. In 2006, R. Katakura and Y. Koide at Kanagawa University (Yokohama) reported synthetic methods for聽.
The ball that is dropped in Times Square in New York City on New Year鈥檚 Eve contains LEDs. As you watch it drop, think of Alq3!
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