Searching for new NIR emitting materials, lanthanide 9-anthracenates Ln(ant)₃ were synthesized and thoroughly characterized. Ytterbium 9-anthracenate Yb(ant)₃, that demonstrated the highest NIR luminescence efficiency, was successfully used as an emission layer of a host-free OLED and its electroluminescence quantum efficiency, corresponding to the sole band at 1000 nm, reached 0.21%. This performance could be achieved due to the high quantum yield of Yb(ant)₃, which reached 1.5% and was increased up to 2.5% by partial Yb³⁺ substitution with Lu³⁺, as well as its high electron mobility due to the extended stacking in its crystal structure. The first gadolinium-based PHOLED was prepared based on Gd(ant)₃.

Lanthanide complexes LnL₃ (Ln = Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Tm, Yb, Lu) with aromatic o-phosphorylated ligands (HL¹ and HL²) have been synthesized and identified. Their molecular structure was proposed on the basis of a new complex approach, including DFT calculations, Sparkle/PM3 modelling, EXAFS spectroscopy and luminescent probing. The photophysical properties of all of the complexes were investigated in detail to obtain a deeper insight into the energy transfer processes.