The metal–organic complexes of Sc, Y, La and lanthanides, which were tested as luminescent materials in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), are collected. The performances of the devices are given. Advantages and drawbacks of organic derivatives of rare earth metals as emissive materials are considered.

New near-IR electroluminescent complexes of Pr³⁺, Nd³⁺, Ho³⁺, Er³⁺, Tm³⁺, Yb³⁺ with N,O-chelated ligands, Ln₂(OON)₆ (OON = 2-(2-benzoxyazol-2-yl)phenolate) and Ln₂(SON)₆ (SON = 2-(2-benzothiazol-2-yl)phenolate), were synthesized by the reaction of Ln[N(SiMe₃)₂]₃ and the corresponding N,O-chelating ligand. X-Ray analysis for the Pr and Nd compounds reveals centrosymmetric dimeric structures of the complexes. The solid-state electronic absorption spectra and the electroluminescent spectra show long-wavelength 4f–4f transitions which provide potential use of the compounds as NIR emitting materials in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). When constructing OLEDs based on Ln₂(OON)₆ and Ln₂(SON)₆, the best results were achieved with the Nd³⁺ and Yb³⁺ complexes, where the NIR wall plug efficiency of the ITO/TPD/Ln-complex/BATH/Yb system is 0.82 and 1.22 mW W⁻¹, respectively.