Soluble blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes were developed using a pyridofuropyridine derivative, 3-(3-(carbazole-9-yl) phenyl) pyrido[3',2':4,5]furo[2,3-b] pyridine (CzPFP), and a benzofuropyridine derivative, 6-(3-(carbazole-9-yl) phenyl) benzofuro[2,3-b] pyridine (PCz-6BFP) as host materials. The CzPFP and PCz-6BFP hosts formed a smooth film morphology with a surface roughness less than 0.5 nm after spin coating. The PCz-6BFP host showed better quantum efficiency than the CzPFP host and a high quantum efficiency of 19.5% was achieved in solution processed blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes using the PCz-6BFP host. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.