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Scale-up Chemical Synthesis of Thermally-activated Delayed Fluorescence Emitters Based on the Dibenzothiophene-S,S-Dioxide Core
Published on: October 24, 2017
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Teaching an Old Poly(arylene ether) New Tricks: Efficient Blue Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence
Xinrui Liu1, Jiancheng Rao2, Xuefei Li1
1State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, P. R. China.
Iscience
|May 6, 2019
Summary
Researchers developed metal-free blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) polymers for optoelectronics. Embedding TADF emitters into poly(aryl ether) backbones enhances luminescence efficiency and thermal stability in polymer light-emitting diodes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Electronics
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) offer brightness and processability for optoelectronics.
- Metal insertion is often required to boost luminescence efficiency, and achieving efficient blue emission remains a significant challenge.
- Existing blue emitters often suffer from instability or reliance on heavy metals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop metal-free blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) polymers.
- To enhance luminescence efficiency and thermal stability in PLEDs.
- To achieve high-performance blue emission without metal catalysts.
Main Methods:
- Directly embedding small-molecule blue TADF emitters into a poly(aryl ether) (PAE) backbone.
- Utilizing oxygen-induced negligible electronic communication between TADF fragments within the polymer.
- Optimizing device performance through systematic adjustments.
Main Results:
- Successfully synthesized blue TADF polymers free from metal catalyst contamination.
- Achieved inherited blue delayed fluorescence from the embedded emitters due to suppressed electronic communication.
- Demonstrated improved thermal stability compared to conventional materials.
- Realized a current efficiency of 29.7 cd/A (21.2 lm/W, 13.2%) with CIE coordinates of (0.18, 0.32) after device optimization.
- Obtained performance competitive with blue phosphorescent polymers.
Conclusions:
- The developed PAE backbone strategy effectively enables high-performance blue delayed fluorescence in polymers.
- This metal-free approach offers a promising alternative for efficient and stable blue emitters in optoelectronic applications.
- The study highlights the significance of polymer backbone design in achieving advanced macromolecular optoelectronic materials.
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