Host copolymers containing pendant carbazole and oxadiazole groups: Synthesis,characterization and optoelectronic applications for efficient green phosphorescent OLEDs

Vinyl copolymers (PCOn), containing pendant carbazole and aromatic 1,3,4‐oxadiazole attached with dodecyloxy group, were prepared from their corresponding precursor poly(9‐vinyl carbazole‐co‐4‐vinylbenzyl chloride) (PCBn) by the Williamson condensation (n: mole% of 4‐vinylbenzyl chloride). These copolymers were used as host materials for green phosphorescent light‐emitting diodes after blending 4 wt % of Ir(ppy)₃. PL spectra of the PCOn films showed the formation of excimer or exciplex. The phosphorescent EL devices were fabricated with a configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/host copolymers:Ir(ppy)₃/BCP/Ca/Al. The PL and EL spectra of the blends [PCOn:Ir(ppy)₃] revealed dominant green emission at 517 nm attributed to Ir(ppy)₃ due to efficient energy transfer from the host to Ir(ppy)₃. Efficient green phosphorescent OLEDs was obtained when employing copolymer PCO16 as the host and Ir(ppy)₃ as the guest. The maximal luminance efficiency and the maximal luminance of this device were 17.9 cd/A and 19,903 cd/m², respectively. After doped with Ir(ppy)₃, the morphology of the films, both controlled PCO20 and PCO20 with attached dodecyloxy groups, were investigated by tapping‐mode AFM and FE‐SEM. The film of PCO20 exhibited uniform, featureless image and showed much better device performance than PCO20, which have been attributed to good compatibility of PCO20 with Ir(ppy)₃. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5180–5193, 2008     

Charge transport properties of triphenylamine‐pendant polypeptide

The structurally ordered polymer, triphenylamine‐pendant polypeptide (PATPA: poly[γ‐4‐(N,N‐diphenylamino‐phenyl)‐L ‐glutamine]), was prepared in order to obtain high hole mobility and high thermal stability. The hole mobility obtained for PATPA (ca. 10⁻⁵ cm²/Vsec) at room temperature is higher than that for poly(N‐vinylcarbazole) (PVK) (ca. 10⁻⁷ cm²/Vsec) or that of carbazole‐pendant polypeptide (PCLG) (ca. 10⁻⁸ cm²/Vsec). These results are supported by thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurements because the TSC can be correlated with the mobility. The glass‐transition temperature (T_g) of PATPA was estimated to be about 130° by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). From these results, PATPA is an alternative candidate as a photoconductive polymer with high thermal stability and high hole mobility. The ordered structure along the main chain is thought to facilitate hole transport. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 362–368, 2000     

Synthesis and luminescence of poly(phenylacetylene)s with pendant iridium complexes and carbazole groups

Poly(phenylacetylene)s containing pendant phosphorescent iridium complexes have been synthesized and their electrochemical, photo‐ and electroluminescent properties studied. The polymers have been synthesized by rhodium‐catalyzed copolymerization of 9‐(4‐ethynylphenyl)carbazole (CzPA) and phenylacetylenes (C∧N)₂Ir(κ²‐O,O′‐MeC(O)CHC(O)C₆H₄C?CH‐4) (C∧N = κ²‐N,C¹‐2‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)phenyl (Ir^ppyPA) or κ²‐N,C¹‐2‐(isoquinolin‐1‐yl)phenyl (Ir^piqPA)). In addition, organic poly(phenylacetylene)s with pendant carbazole groups have been synthesized by rhodium‐catalyzed copolymerization of CzPA and 1‐ethynyl‐4‐pentylbenzene. Complex (C∧N)₂Ir(κ²‐O,O′‐MeC(O)CHC(O)Ph) (Ir^piqPh; C∧N = 2‐(isoquinolin‐1‐yl)phenyl‐κ²‐N,C¹) was prepared and characterized. While the copolymers of the Ir^ppy series were weakly phosphorescent, those of the Ir^piq series displayed at room temperature intense emissions from the carbazole (fluorescence) and iridium (phosphorescence) emitters, being the latter dominant when the spectra were recorded using polymer films. Triple layer OLED devices employing copolymers of the Ir^piq series or the model complex Ir^piqPh yielded electroluminescence with an emission spectra originating from the iridium complex and maximum external quantum efficiencies of 0.46% and 2.99%, respectively. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3744–3757, 2010     

Copoly(p‐phenylene)s containing bipolar triphenylamine and 1,2,4‐triazole groups: Synthesis,optoelectronic properties,and applications

Two novel copoly(p‐phenylene)s ( P1 – P2 ) containing bipolar groups (12.8 and 6.8 mol %, respectively), directly linked hole transporting triphenylamine and electron transporting aromatic 1,2,4‐triazole, were synthesized to enhance electroluminescence (EL) of poly(p‐phenylene vinylene) (PPV) derivatives. The bipolar groups not only enhance thermal stability but also promote electron affinity and hole affinity of the resulting copoly(p‐phenylene)s. Blending the bipolar copoly‐(p‐phenylene)s ( P1 – P2 ) with PPV derivatives ( d6‐PPV ) as an emitting layer effectively improve the emission efficiency of its electroluminescent devices [indium tin oxide (ITO)/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS)/polymer blend/Ca (50 nm)/Al (100 nm)]. The maximum luminance and maximum luminance efficiency were significantly enhanced from 310 cd m^?2 and 0.03 cd A^?1 ( d6‐PPV ‐based device) to 1450 cd m^?2 and 0.20 cd A^?1 (blend device with d6‐PPV / P1 = 96/4 containing ～0.5 wt % of bipolar groups), respectively. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of the copoly(p‐phenylene)s with bipolar groups in enhancing EL of PPV derivatives. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Electrochemiluminescence Studies of Phosphorescent Dopant and Host Molecules of Polymer Light-emitting Diodes

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) from tris(2‐phenylpyridine)irdium [Ir(ppy)₃] was investigated following cross reaction of its anion with oxidized poly(N‐vinyl‐carbazole) (PVK) and its cation with reduced 2‐(4‐biphenylyl)‐5‐(4‐tert‐butyl‐phenyl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole (PBD). Both cross reactions show Ir(ppy)₃ emission and the cross reaction of PVK^+·/Ir(ppy)⁻₃ showed the highest ECL intensity. The comparisons of the reaction enthalpy and the energy of Ir(ppy)₃ light emitting shows that reaction between PVK^+· and Ir(ppy)⁻₃ is energy sufficient to populate metal‐to‐ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excited singlet (3.04 eV) of Ir(ppy)₃, while the reaction between Ir(ppy)⁺₃ and PBD^{− ·} is energy efficient to populate MLCT excited triplet (2.4 eV). The ECL result in solution reveals that the energy released from charge transfer between the Ir(ppy)₃ and PVK or PBD is sufficient to produce the excited state of Ir(ppy)₃ in solid polymer light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs) based on PVK:PBD hosts doped by Ir(ppy)₃. These results obtained will provide further insight into charge‐transfer excitation in PLEDs.     

Solution-processed red iridium complexes based on carbazole-phenylquinoline main ligand: Synthesis, properties and their applications in phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes

New carbazole-phenylquinoline (CVz-PhQ) based iridium complexes were designed and synthesized for their application in red phosphorescence organic light-emitting diodes (PhOLEDs) and their photophysical, electrochemical and electroluminescence (EL) properties were investigated. The PhOLEDs were fabricated using bis[9-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl)-3-(4-phenylquinolin-2-yl)-9H-carbazolato-N,C2′]iridium 2-pyrazinecarboxylic acid (EO-CVz-PhQ)₂Ir(prz) and bis[9-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl)-3-(4-phenylquinolin-2-yl)-9H-carbazolato-N,C2′]iridium 5-methyl-2-pyrazinecarboxylic acid (EO-CVz-PhQ)₂Ir(mprz) as the emitter and PVK, co-doped with OXD-7 as the electron transport material and TPD as the hole transport material, as the polymer host. The red emissive PhOLEDs, based on the ITO/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/4,4′,4″-tris(carbazole-9-yl)triphenylamine (TCTA)/poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK):N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-(bis(3-methylphenyl)-[1,1-biphenyl]-4,4′-diamine (TPD):1,3-bis[5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-yl]benzene (OXD-7):Ir complex/cathode configuration, exhibited a maximum external quantum efficiency of 3.68% and a maximum luminance efficiency of 6.69 cd/A. Furthermore, by introducing a TCTA interlayer, the PhOLEDs showed only a slight efficiency roll off of 5.4% from a low current density (1.81 mA/cm²) to a high current density (44.59 mA/cm²).     

Carbazolevinylene‐based polymers and model compounds with oxadiazole and triphenylamine segments: Synthesis,photophysics, and electroluminescence

Two new soluble alternating carbazolevinylene‐based polymers POXD and PTPA as well as the corresponding model compounds MOXD and MTPA were synthesized by Heck coupling. POXD and MOXD contained 2,5‐diphenyloxadiazole segments, while PTPA and MTPA contained triphenylamine segments. All samples displayed high thermal stability. The polymers had higher glass transition temperature (T_g) than their corresponding model compounds. The samples showed absorption maximum at 364–403 nm with optical band gap of 2.62–2.82 eV. They emitted blue‐green light with photoluminescence (PL) emission maximum at 450–501 nm and PL quantum yields in THF solution of 0.15–0.36. The absorption and the PL emission maxima of PTPA and MTPA were blue‐shifted as compared to those of POXD and MOXD . The electroluminescence (EL) spectra of multilayered devices made using four materials exhibited bluish green emissions, which is well consistent with PL spectra. The EL devices made using poly(vinyl carbazole) doped with MOXD and MTPA as emitting materials showed luminances of 12.1 and 4.8 cd m^?2. POXD and PTPA exhibited 25.4, and 96.3 cd m^?2, respectively. The polymer containing the corresponding molecules in the repeating group showed much higher device performances. Additionally, POXD and MOXD exhibited better stability of external quantum efficiency (EQE) and luminous efficiency with current density resulting from enhancing the electron transporting properties. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5592–5603, 2008     

Cascade hole transport in efficient green phosphorescent light‐emitting devices achieved by layer‐by‐layer solution deposition using photocrosslinkable‐conjugated polymers containing oxetane side‐chain moieties

A hole‐injection/transport bilayer structure on an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer was fabricated using two photocrosslinkable polymers with different molecular energy levels. Two photoreactive polymers were synthesized using 2,7‐(or 3,6‐)‐dibromo‐9‐(6‐((3‐methyloxetan‐3‐yl)methoxy)hexyl)‐9H‐carbazole) and 2,4‐dimethyl‐N,N‐bis(4‐ (4,4,5,5‐tetramethyl‐1,3,2‐dioxaborolan‐2‐yl)phenyl)aniline via a Suzuki coupling reaction. When the oxetane groups were photopolymerized in the presence of a cationic photoinitiator, the photocured film showed good solvent resistance and compatibility with a poly(N‐vinylcarbazole) (PVK)‐based emitting layer. Without the use of a conventional hole injection layer (HIL) of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/(polystyrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), the resulting green light‐emitting device bearing PVK: 5‐4‐tert‐butylphenyl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole (PBD):Ir(Cz‐ppy)3 exhibited a maximum external quantum efficiency of 9.69%; this corresponds to a luminous efficiency of 29.57 cd/A for the device K‐4 configuration ITO/POx‐I/POx‐II/PVK:PBD:Ir(Cz‐ppy)3/triazole/Alq3/LiF/Al. These values are much higher than those of PLEDs using conventional PEDOT:PSS as a single HIL. The significant improvement in device efficiency is the result of suppression of the hole injection/transport properties through double‐layered photocrosslinked‐conjugated polymers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Synthesis and characterization of light‐emitting oligo(p‐phenylene‐vinylene)s and polymeric derivatives containing three‐ and five‐conjugated phenylene rings. II. Electro‐optical properties and optimization of PLED performance

A series of multilayer polymeric light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs) containing an electron‐transporting layer (ETL), that is tris(8‐quinolinolato)‐aluminum(III) (Alq) and 2,2′,2″‐(1,3,5‐phenylene)‐tris[1‐phenyl‐1H‐benzimidazole] (TPBI), were fabricated by doping fluorescent oligo(p‐phenylene‐vinylene)s (BIII and BV) and polymer derivatives (PBV) into poly(N‐vinyl carbazole) (PVK). These PLEDs can be optimized by the design of multilayer device configurations (brightness increased 8–15 times by addition of ETL) and possess greenish electroluminescent (EL) spectra peaked about 500–540 nm. A remarkably high brightness of 56,935 cd/m² with a power efficiency of 3.25 lm/W was obtained in the device of PVK:BVOC₈‐OC₈ (100:20)/Alq (60 nm/60 nm). It suggests that the emission mechanism (including the conjugated and excimer emissions of BVOC₈‐OC₈ emitters) originates from both of BVOC₈‐OC₈ and ETL (Alq and TPBI) by varying the concentration of chromophores and adjusting the thickness of ETL. The concentration effect of the emitters in PVK (i.e. PVK:BVOC₈‐OC₈ = 100:5, 100:20, and 100:100 wt %) and the influence of the ETL (including its thickness) on the EL characteristics are also reported. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2922–2936, 2006     

Electroluminescent Properties of an Electrochemically Cross‐Linkable Carbazole Peripheral Poly(Benzyl Ether) Dendrimer

The electroluminescent (EL) properties of a cross‐linkable carbazole‐terminated poly(benzyl ether) dendrimer, G₃‐cbz DN, doped into a PVK:PBD host matrix with a double‐layer device configuration are investigated. Different concentrations of the guest material can control device efficiency, related to chromaticity of white emission and the origin of excited‐state complexes occurring between hole‐transporting carbazole units (PVK or G₃‐cbz DN) and electron‐transporting oxadiazole (PBD). Two excited states (exciplex and electroplex) generated at the interfaces of PVK/G₃‐cbz DN and PBD result in competitive emission, exhibiting a broad band in the EL spectra.     

内含C60掺杂空穴传输层的量子点电致发光器件

聚乙烯咔唑（PVK）中掺入富勒烯（C₆₀）的重量比从0%到10%变化,以研究在空穴传输层中掺杂C₆₀后对量子点电致发光器件性能的影响。掺入C₆₀后的PVK薄膜在氧化铟锡（ITO）基底上均方根粗糙度从3nm降至1.6nm。另外,掺入C₆₀后有利于空穴的注入和传输,改善器件中电子和空穴的平衡,提高了器件的效率。     

内含C_(60)掺杂空穴传输层的量子点电致发光器件

聚乙烯咔唑(PVK)中掺入富勒烯(C60)的重量比从0%到10%变化,以研究在空穴传输层中掺杂C60后对量子点电致发光器件性能的影响。掺入C60后的PVK薄膜在氧化铟锡(ITO)基底上均方根粗糙度从3 nm降至1.6 nm。另外,掺入C60后有利于空穴的注入和传输,改善器件中电子和空穴的平衡,提高了器件的效率。     

New P‐type of poly(4‐methoxy‐triphenylamine)s derived by coupling reactions: Synthesis,electrochromic behaviors,and hole mobility

Methoxy‐substituted poly(triphenylamine)s, poly‐4‐methoxytriphenylamine ( PMOTPA ), and poly‐N,N‐bis(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐N′,N′‐diphenyl‐p‐phenylenediamine ( PMOPD ), were synthesized from the nickel‐catalyzed Yamamoto and oxidative coupling reaction with FeCl₃. All synthesized polymers could be well characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. These polymers possess good solubility in common organic solvent, thermal stability with relatively high glass‐transition temperatures (T_gs) in the range of 152–273 °C, 10% weight‐loss temperature in excess of 480 °C, and char yield at 800 °C higher than 79% under a nitrogen atmosphere. They were amorphous and showed bluish green light (430–487 nm) fluorescence with quantum efficiency up to 45–62% in NMP solution. The hole‐transporting and electrochromic properties are examined by electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical methods. All polymers exhibited reversible oxidation redox peaks and E_onset around 0.44–0.69 V versus Ag/AgCl and electrochromic characteristics with a color change under various applied potentials. The series of PMOTPA and PMOPD also showed p‐type characteristics, and the estimated hole mobility of O ‐ PMOTPA and Y ‐ PMOPD were up to 1.5 × 10^?4 and 5.6 × 10^?5 cm² V^?1 s^?1, respectively. The FET results indicate that the molecular weight, annealing temperature, and polymer structure could crucially affect the charge transporting ability. This study suggests that triphenylamine‐containing conjugated polymer is a multifunctional material for various optoelectronic device applications. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4037–4050, 2009     

Hole‐transporting host‐polymer series consisting of triphenylamine basic structures for phosphorescent polymer light‐emitting diodes

A series of novel styrene derived monomers with triphenylamine‐based units, and their polymers have been synthesized and compared with the well‐known structure of polymer of N,N′‐bis(3‐methylphenyl)‐N,N′‐diphenylbenzidine with respect to their hole‐transporting behavior in phosphorescent polymer light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs). A vinyltriphenylamine structure was selected as a basic unit, functionalized at the para positions with the following side groups: diphenylamine, 3‐methylphenyl‐aniline, 1‐ and 2‐naphthylamine, carbazole, and phenothiazine. The polymers are used in PLEDs as host polymers for blend systems with the following device configuration: glass/indium–tin–oxide/PEDOT:PSS/polymer‐blend/CsF/Ca/Ag. In addition to the hole‐transporting host polymer, the polymer blend includes a phosphorescent dopant [Ir(Me‐ppy)₃] and an electron‐transporting molecule (2‐(4‐biphenyl)‐5‐(4‐tert‐butylphenyl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole). We demonstrate that two polymers are excellent hole‐transporting matrix materials for these blend systems because of their good overall electroluminescent performances and their comparatively high glass transition temperatures. For the carbazole‐substituted polymer (T_g = 246 °C), a luminous efficiency of 35 cd A^?1 and a brightness of 6700 cd m^?2 at 10 V is accessible. The phenothiazine‐functionalized polymer (T_g = 220 °C) shows nearly the same outstanding PLED behavior. Hence, both these polymers outperform the well‐known polymer of N,N′‐bis(3‐methylphenyl)‐N,N′‐diphenylbenzidine, showing only a luminous efficiency of 7.9 cd A^?1 and a brightness of 2500 cd m^?2 (10 V). © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3417–3430, 2010     

Synthesis, Photophysical and Electrochemical Characterization of the Heteroleptic Iridium Complexes with Modified Ancillary Ligand by Carrier-transporting Groups

Two heteroleptic iridium complexes with a general formulation of (piq)₂Ir(G‐pic) were synthesized and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and element analysis, in which piq is 1‐phenylisoquinoline, G‐pic is picolinic acid derivative containing carrier‐transporting group by a non‐conjugated connection of 1,6‐dioxyhexane. Both (piq)₂Ir(G‐pic) complexes exhibited an enhanced UV absorption band at 310–400 nm, an increased HOMO energy level and an identical red emission peaked at 612 nm with higher fluorescence quantum efficiency (ø_f), compared to (piq)₂Ir(pic) in dichloromethane solution. Interestingly, this iridium complex containing both hole‐transporting triphenylamine and electron‐transporting oxadiazole moieties exhibited the best Ф_f of 0.58 using Ru(bpy)₃(PF6)₂ as the reference (ø_f=0.062 in acetonitrile). This work indicates that incorporating carrier‐transporting groups into ancillary ligand by a non‐conjugated connection is available for improving the optophysical properties of their iridium complexes.     

Electroluminescent properties of a partially‐conjugated hyperbranched poly(p‐phenylene vinylene)

In this paper, the electroluminescent properties of a new partially‐conjugated hyperbranched poly (p‐phenylene vinylene) (HPPV) were studied. The single layer light‐emitting device with HPPV as the emitting layer emits blue‐green light at 496 nm, with a luminance of 160 cd/m² at 9 V, a turn‐on voltage of 4.3 V and an electroluminescent efficiency of 0.028 cd/A. By doping an electron‐transport material [2‐(4‐biphenylyl)‐5‐phenyl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole, PBD] into the emitting layer and inserting a thin layer of tris(8‐hydroxy‐quinoline)aluminum (Alq₃) as electron transporting/hole blocking layer for the devices, the electroluminescent efficiency of 1.42 cd/A and luminance of 1700 cd/m² were achieved. The results demonstrate that the devices with the hyperbranched polymers as emitting material can achieve high efficiency through optimization of device structures. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improved EL efficiency of fluorene‐thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene‐based conjugated copolymers with hole‐transporting or electron‐transporting units in the main chain

New electroluminescent polymers (poly(9,9′‐dioctylfluorene‐co‐thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene‐co‐benzo[2,3,5]thiadiazole) ( P1) and poly(9,9′‐dioctylfluorene‐co‐thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene‐co‐benzo[2,3,5]thiadiazole‐co‐[4‐(2‐ethylhexyloxyl)phenyl]diphenylamine ( P2) ) possess hole‐transporting or electron‐transporting units or both in the main chains. Electron‐deficient benzothiadiazole and electron‐rich triphenylamine moieties were incorporated into the polymer backbone to improve the electron‐transporting and hole‐transporting characteristics, respectively. P1 and P2 show greater solubility than poly(9,9′‐dioctylfluorene‐co‐thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene ( PFTT ), without sacrificing their good thermal stability. Moreover, owing to the incorporation of the electron‐deficient benzothiadiazole unit, P1 and P2 exhibit remarkably lower LUMO levels than PFTT , and thus, it should facilitate the electron injection into the polymer layer from the cathode electrode. Consequently, because of the balance of charge mobility, LED devices based on P1 and P2 exhibit greater brightness and efficiency (up to 3000 cd/m² and 1.35 cd/A) than devices that use the pristine PFTT . © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 243–253, 2006     

Photodegradation‐induced photoluminescence behaviors of π‐conjugated polymers upon the doping of organometallic triplet emitters

The different effects on the photodegradation‐induced photoluminescence (PL) of π‐conjugated polymeric thin films upon the doping of Ir(III) containing triplet emitters in ambient conditions at room temperature were investigated. In this study, we prepared spin‐coated thin films using three different polymer matrices including poly(9‐vinylcarbazole) (PVK), poly[9,9‐bis(2‐ethylhexyl)fluorene‐2,7‐diyl] (PF2/6), and poly[2‐(5′‐cyano‐5′‐methyl‐hexyloxy)‐1,4‐phenylene] (CNPPP) derivatives doped with Ir(III) containing triplet emitters: Ir(III) bis[(4,6‐fluorophenyl)‐pyridinato‐N,C²′] picolinate (FIrpic), or Ir(III)fac‐tris(2‐phenylpyridine) (Ir(ppy)₃), or Ir(III)bis(2‐(2′‐benzothienyl) pyridinato‐N‐acetylacetonate) (Ir(btp)₂acac). Using the doped films, and their neat films, on quartz substrates, the UV‐Visible absorption (UV‐Vis) and PL spectra were recorded under continuous illumination with the excitation wavelengths at the absorption maxima of the corresponding matrix polymers. The dopant effects on the photodegradation‐induced PL were extracted from the kinetic data obtained from the doped films by subtracting the mutual degradation kinetics of their corresponding neat films. The obtained dopant effects show a strong correlation between the photo‐induced PL degradation and the exciton migration behaviors. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 2395–2403, 2008     

Robust Tris‐Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Phosphors with Ligands for Effective Charge Carrier Injection/Transport: Synthesis,Redox, Photophysical,and Electrophosphorescent Behavior

With the target to design and develop new functionalized green triplet light emitters that possess distinctive electronic properties for robust and highly efficient phosphorescent organic light‐emitting diodes (PHOLEDs), a series of bluish–green to yellow–green phosphorescent tris‐cyclometalated homoleptic iridium(III) complexes [Ir(ppy‐X)₃] (X=SiPh₃, GePh₃, NPh₂, POPh₂, OPh, SPh, SO₂Ph, Hppy=2‐phenylpyridine) have been synthesized and fully characterized by spectroscopic, redox, and photophysical methods. By chemically manipulating the lowest triplet‐state character of Ir(ppy)₃ with some functional main‐group 14–16 moieties on the phenyl ring of ppy, a new family of metallophosphors with high‐emission quantum yields, short triplet‐state lifetimes, and good hole‐injection/hole‐transporting or electron‐injection/electron‐transporting properties can be obtained. Remarkably, all of these Ir^III complexes show outstanding electrophosphorescent performance in multilayer doped devices that surpass that of the state‐of‐the‐art green‐emitting dopant Ir(ppy)₃. The devices described herein can reach the maximum external quantum efficiency (η_ext) of 12.3 %, luminance efficiency (η_L) of 50.8 cd A^?1, power efficiency (η_p) of 36.9 Lm W^?1 for [Ir(ppy‐SiPh₃)₃], 13.9 %, 60.8 cd A^?1, 49.1 Lm W^?1 for [Ir(ppy‐NPh₂)₃], and 10.1 %, 37.6 cd A^?1, 26.1 Lm W^?1 for [Ir(ppy‐SO₂Ph)₃]. These results provide a completely new and effective strategy for carrier injection into the electrophosphor to afford high‐performance PHOLEDs suitable for various display applications.     

Development of Strong Visible-Light-Absorbing Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes for Robust and Efficient Light-Driven Hydrogen Production

Weak light absorption of common Ir(III) complexes (e. g., using phenylpyridine as the ligand) has hindered their applications in photocatalytic hydrogen generation from water as an efficient photosensitizer. To address this issue, a series of cyclometalated Ir(III) complexes (Ir1–Ir5), featuring different electron-donating substituents to enhance the absorptivity, have been synthesized and studied as photosensitizers (PSs) for light-driven hydrogen production from water. Ir6–Ir7 were prepared as fundamental systems for comparisons. Electron donors, including 9-phenylcarbazole, triphenylamine, 4,4′-dimethoxytriphenylamine, 4,4′-di(N-hexylcarbazole)triphenylamine moieties were introduced on 6-(thiophen-2-yl)phenanthridine-based cyclometalating (C^N) ligands to explore the donor effect on the hydrogen evolution performance of these cationic Ir(III) complexes. Remarkably, Ir4 with 4,4′-dimethoxytriphenylamine achieved the highest turn-over number (TON) of 12 300 and initial turnover frequency (TOF_i) of 394 h⁻¹, with initial activity (activity_i) of 547 000 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ and initial apparent quantum yield (AQY_i) of 9.59 %, under the illumination of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for 105 hours, which demonstrated a stable three-component photocatalytic system with high efficiency. The TON (based on n(H₂)/n(PSr)) in this study is the highest value reported to date among the similar photocatalytic systems using Ir(III) complexes with Pt nanoparticles as catalyst. The great potential of using triphenylamine-based Ir(III) PSs in boosting photocatalytic performance has also been shown.