Acridone-Based Host Materials for Green Phosphorescent and Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent OLEDs with Low-Efficiency Roll-Offs

By linking the carbazole unit to the nitrogen atom of acridone through phenyl or pyridyl, two compounds, named 10-(4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl)acridin-9(10H)-one (AC-Ph-Cz) and 10-(5-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)pyridin-2-yl)acridin-9(10H)-one (AC-Py-Cz) were designed and synthesized. These two materials, characterized with highly twisted and rigid structure, good thermal stability, and balanced carrier-transporting properties, were employed as host materials for green phosphorescent and thermally activated delayed fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The carbazole group, despite its small contribution to the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) of these two materials, plays an essential role as an intramolecular host in energy delivering and improving the hole transporting ability of these two hosts. The incorporation of the electron-deficient pyridyl group as a linking group slightly improves the electron transporting capability of AC-Py-Cz. The green phosphorescent OLED (PhOLED) based on AC-Py-Cz exhibited excellent device performance with a turn-on voltage of 2.5 V, a maximum power efficiency and an external quantum efficiency (η_ext) of 89.8 lm W⁻¹ and 25.2 %, respectively, benefitting from the better charge-balancing ability of AC-Py-Cz host due to the presence of the pyridyl bridge. More importantly, all the devices based on these two hosts showed low efficiency roll-off at high brightness due to the suppressed non-radiative transition in the emitting layer. In particular, the AC-Py-Cz-hosted green PhOLED exhibited an efficiency roll-off of 1.6 % from the maximum next at a high brightness of 1000 cd m⁻² and a roll-off of 15.9 % at an extremely high brightness of 10000 cd m⁻². This study manifests that acridone-based host materials have great potential in fabricating OLEDs with low efficiency roll-off.     

A Bulky Pyridinyl?uorene/Triphenylamine Hybrid Used as Host Material for Heavily‐Doped Blue Electrophosphorescent Devices

In this work, a novel molecule pyridinyl?uorene/triphenylamine hybrid ( TPyFTPA ) with bulky steric hindrance effects has been synthesized successfully by substituting 9‐(pyridine‐2‐yl)‐fluoren‐9‐yl with triphenylamine (TPA) via Friedel‐Crafts reaction, which possesses good thermal stability and triplet energy (E_T) of 420°C with 5% weight loss and 2.86 eV, respectively. Moreover, the bulky steric hindrance material shows high stable morphology by heating to 200°C without finding melting phenomena and crystallization that is demonstrated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curve. The bulky pyridinyl?uorene end‐capped TPA has been used as host material for blue phosphorescent organic light‐emitting diodes (PhOLEDs) with maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 2.7%, 3.7%, and 3.5%, at the doping ratios of 10%, 30%, and 40%, respectively. The performances of TPyFTPA ‐based blue PhOLEDs own wide concentration ranging from 10% to 40%, which indicates the bulky TPyFTPA might be a potential candidate for inexpensive products with simplifying process for the applications in full‐color display and solid state lighting.     

Synthesis and Characterization of New Phosphorescent Heteroleptic Iridium (III) Complex by Using Tetrazole as an Ancillary Ligand for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

The yellow emitting tetrazole based heteroleptic iridium(III) complex, bis(diphenylquinoline)iridium(pyridyltetrazole) [(DPQ)₂Ir(PyTz)], was synthesized and conformed by ¹H-,¹³C NMR spectral techniques. The purity was also confirmed by HPLC. The thermal, electrochemical, photophysical and electroluminescent properties were intrinsically investigated. The Ir(III) complex is thermally more stable having thermal decomposition temperature (T_d, 5% weight loss) more than 350°C and it shows very high glass transition temperature T_g-233°C. We have followed the easy and cost effective solution process for (DPQ)₂Ir(PyTz) device fabrication and achieved better performance yellow phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PhOLEDs), maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 5.68%, luminance efficiency 12.63 cd/A, and CIE coordinate of (0.56, 0.43).     

深陷阱对有机磷光双掺杂体系电致发光器件效率衰退的影响

研究利用溶液法制备的有机磷光双重掺杂体系电致发光器件的光致发光特性与电致发光特性,并研究了在这种体系中深能级陷阱导致的器件效率衰退现象。首先利用紫外光谱仪和光致瞬态寿命测试系统对基于旋涂法制备的以宽带隙材料4,4’-bis(N-carbazolyl)-1,1’-biphenyl（CBP）为主体,绿色磷光材料tris(2-phenylpyridine) iridium(Ⅲ)（Ir(ppy)₃）和红色磷光材料tris(1-phenylisoquinolinato-C2,N)iridium(Ⅲ)（Ir(piq)₃）为客体材料的薄膜进行了光致发射光谱测试和薄膜在Ir(ppy)₃发光峰516 nm处的光致发光寿命测试,实验发现在Ir(ppy)₃掺杂比例保持定值时,随着深能级掺杂材料Ir(piq)₃的引入,其光致发光光谱中Ir(ppy)₃的相对发光强度减弱且发光寿命变短,当Ir(piq)₃掺杂浓度继续提高时,薄膜光致发光光谱基本保持不变且Ir(ppy)₃的发光寿命基本不变。实验说明在低浓度掺杂下两者的三线态能级之间存在着能量传递,但当掺杂浓度达到高浓度时,能量传递主要来自于主客体之间的传递,两者作为独立的发光中心发光。然后利用溶液法制备了发光层分别为CBP∶Ir(ppy)₃,CBP∶Ir(ppy)₃∶Ir(piq)₃和CBP∶Ir(ppy)₃∶PTB7的三组器件,器件结构为ITO/PEDOT∶PSS/Poly-TPD/EML/TPBi（15 nm）/Alq₃（25 nm）/LiF（0.6 nm）/Al（80 nm）。在Ir(ppy)₃和Ir(piq)₃共掺杂器件和Ir(ppy)₃单掺杂器件的对比实验中发现,加入一定比例的深能级材料后,器件的电致发光光谱发生改变,Ir(piq)₃的相对发光强度增强,器件发光效率下降且效率滚降现象明显。通过对器件进行J-V测试,发现在Ir(ppy)₃单掺杂器件中陷阱填充电流随着掺杂材料浓度的提高而提高,但在加入等浓度深能级材料Ir(piq)₃后,陷阱填充电流基本保持一致。瞬态电致发光测试表明,随着Ir(ppy)₃掺杂比例的提高,器件内由于陷阱载流子释放而产生的瞬时发光强度降低,这是由于Ir(ppy)₃具有一定的传导电荷作用,会减少器件中的陷阱载流子,这进一步说明了具有较深能级的Ir(piq)₃是限制载流子的主要能级陷阱。同时发现随反向偏压的增大,瞬态发光强度增大且发光衰减加速,这是因为位于深能级陷阱的载流子在高电压下被释放,重新复合发光,说明深能级陷阱的确限制住了大量载流子,而由于主体三线态激子具有较长的寿命,激子间相互作用产生的单线态激子在高反压下解离,从而引起三线态激子-极化子相互作用的加剧,导致发光衰减加速。在窄带隙聚合物材料PTB7与Ir(ppy)₃共掺杂器件实验中发现,随着PTB7掺杂浓度提高,陷阱浓度变大且器件效率降低,具有较深能级的PTB7成为了限制载流子的深能级陷阱。因此说明在双掺杂有机磷光电致发光器件中,深能级材料会成为限制载流子的能级陷阱,引起载流子大量堆积,从而导致三线态激子与极化子相互作用加剧,使器件的发光效率衰退。     

Synthesis and device properties of carbazole/benzimidazole-based host materials

We report two bipolar host materials bearing hole-transport benzofurocarbazole/indenocarbazole cores and an electron-transport benzimidazole moiety for red phosphorescence organic light emitting devices (PhOLEDs). The two novel host materials exhibited excellent physical properties with high thermal stabilities, appropriate HOMO-LUMO energy levels and balanced charge transport. Both of them were applied to fabricate red PhOLEDs as promising host materials, and 7,7-dimethyl-5-(4′-(1-phenyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)-5,7-dihydroindeno[2,1-b]carbazole (ICBI) based device demonstrated outstanding electroluminescence performance with the maximum current efficiency, power efficiency and external quantum efficiency of 33.0 cd/A, 13.9 lm/W and 18.9%, respectively.     

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).     

An Easy Route to Red Emitting Homoleptic IrIII Complex for Highly Efficient Solution‐Processed Phosphorescent Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes

A thiophene‐phenylquinoline‐based homoleptic Ir^III complex, [Ir(Th‐PQ)₃], has been synthesised by a simple route and utilised as a dopant in solution‐processed phosphorescent organic light‐emitting diodes (PhOLEDs). It shows the current efficiency of approximately 26 cd A^?1 and the external quantum efficiency of about 21 %, which are the highest values reported to date for PhOLEDs prepared by solution‐process.