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Development of Efficient OLEDs from Solution Deposition
Published on: November 4, 2022
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Customized Orthogonal Solvent System with Various Hole-Transporting Polymers for Highly Reproducible
Hyeondoo Je1, Seunguk Cho1, Na Yeon Kwon1
1Department of Chemistry, Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|July 27, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed new hole transport polymers for solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). These polymers offer improved performance and enable fabrication using orthogonal solvents, overcoming solubility challenges for efficient device manufacturing.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Electronics
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Solution-processable thermally activated delayed fluorescence organic light-emitting diodes (TADF-OLEDs) require optimized host and emitter materials.
- Limited research exists on hole transport materials (HTMs) with tailored solubility for multilayer solution-processed OLED fabrication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and evaluate novel hole transport (HT) styrene polymers for solution-processed TADF-OLEDs.
- To address the challenge of HTM solubility in multilayer device fabrication using solution processes.
Main Methods:
- Three new HT styrene polymers (PICz, PPBCz, PTPCz) were synthesized via radical polymerization.
- Solubility characteristics in toluene and ethyl acetate (EA) were investigated.
- Fabrication of green-emitting TADF-OLEDs using EA as an orthogonal solvent for the emitting layer (EML).
Main Results:
- The synthesized polymers exhibited higher highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels and improved hole-transporting abilities compared to poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK).
- Ethyl acetate (EA) was employed as an orthogonal solvent to overcome toluene solubility limitations for EML preparation.
- EA solution-processed TADF-OLEDs demonstrated low turn-on voltages (~2.8 V) and high external quantum efficiencies (>23%), outperforming PVK-based devices.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully removed HTM solubility constraints by utilizing an orthogonal solvent strategy for EML preparation.
- The developed HT polymers and solution processing method provide an efficient route for fabricating high-performance, reproducible OLED devices.
- This approach offers a promising strategy for future solution-processed OLED manufacturing.
