Patent ID: 8017774

Claim:
A method for producing an iridium complex, which comprises reacting a metal complex having a partial structure represented by a following general formula (1): (wherein L represents a monovalent bidentate ligand having at least one aromatic ring and at least one heterocyclic ring, and the aromatic ring and the heterocyclic ring may each be independently substituted, the aromatic ring being selected from the following structures: and the heterocyclic ring being selected from the following structures: R 1 is a group selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a linear or branched alkyl group containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms (in which one or unadjacent two or more methylene groups may be replaced by at least one group selected from the group consisting of —O—, —S—, —CO—, —CO—O—, —O—CO—, —CH═CH— and —C═C—, or one or more methylene groups may be replaced by an arylene group which may be substituted or by a divalent heterocyclic group which may be substituted, and one or two or more hydrogen atoms may be replaced by a fluorine atom, an amino group which may be substituted, a silyl group which may be substituted, a phenyl group which may be substituted, a naphthyl group, a pyrenyl group, a phenanthrenyl group, a chrysenyl group, a fluoranthenyl group, a triphenylenyl group and a heterocyclic group which may be substituted; and Y 1 and Y 2 are each independently a group selected from an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, and a nitrogen atom) with a compound represented by the following general formula (3): (wherein L 1 is identical to L as described above, thereby producing an iridium complex represented by the following general formula (2): (wherein m represents an integer from 1 to 3 and n represents an integer from 0 to 2 in which m+n=3).