A pyridine-containing anthracene derivative, 9,10-bis(3-(pyridin-3-yl)phenyl) anthracene (DPyPA), which comprehensively outperforms the widely used electron-transport material (ETM), tris(8-quinolinolato) aluminum (Alq 3 ), is synthesized. DPyPA exhibits ambipolar transport properties, with both electron and hole mobilities of around 10 − 3 cm − 2 V − 1 s − 1 ; about two orders of magnitude higher than that of Alq 3 . The nitrogen atom in the pyridine ring of DPyPA coordinates to lithium cations, which leads to effi cient electron injection when LiF/Al is used as the cathode. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that both the cations and anions of DPyPA are stable, which may improve the stability of devices based on DPyPA. Red-emitting, green-emitting, and blue-emitting fl uorescent organic light emitting diodes with DPyPA as the ETM display lower turn-on voltages, higher effi ciencies, and stronger luminance than the devices with Alq 3 as the ETM. The power effi ciencies of the devices based on DPyPA are greater by 80-140% relative to those of the Alq 3 -based devices. The improved performance of these devices is attributed to the increased carrier balance. In addition, the device employing DPyPA as the ETM possesses excellent stability: the half-life of the DPyPA-based device is 67 000 h-seven times longer than that of the Alq 3 -based device-for an initial luminance of 5000 cd m − 2 .