A high-pressure spectroscopic investigation of OLED materials with generic formula Mq(3) (M = Al, Ga, In, q = 8-hydroxyquinolinate) has been carried out. The meridional isomer of Alq(3), Gaq(3), Inq(3) and facial isomer of Alq(3) have been produced and their corresponding photoluminescence emission energy has been studied as a function of the cation, pressure, excitation wavelength and isomer. A redshift in the order of 0 3 eV takes place for the pure-meridional isomer compounds in the 0-8 GPa range We have detected the occurrence of pressure-induced phase transitions presenting hysteresis to ambient conditions. In the case of the facial isomer, luminescence does not significantly redshift until very high pressure We interpret these features in terms of the enhancement of the intermolecular interaction. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved