Intrinsically stretchable three primary light-emitting films enabled by elastomer blend for polymer light-emitting...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Optoelectronics

Background:

• Intrinsically stretchable light-emitting materials are vital for advanced wearable displays, enabling skin-like interfaces.
• Current stretchable materials are limited to yellow-green hues, hindering full-color display development.
• Achieving red, green, and blue (RGB) intrinsically stretchable emitters is essential for skin-like, full-color displays.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer intrinsically stretchable primary light-emitting films in red, green, and blue (RGB).
• To create a polymer blend system capable of stable, efficient light emission under mechanical strain.
• To demonstrate the potential of these materials for next-generation wearable electronic displays.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of intrinsically stretchable light-emitting films using a polymer blend of conventional RGB light-emitting polymers and a nonpolar elastomer.
• Characterization of the blend films' nanostructure, revealing interconnected light-emitting polymer nanodomains within an elastomer matrix.
• Evaluation of the films' optoelectronic properties, including luminance, turn-on voltage, and stability under mechanical strain (up to 100% strain over 1000 cycles).

Main Results:

• Development of three highly stretchable primary light-emitting films (red, green, blue) from a novel polymer blend.
• The blend films exhibit multidimensional nanodomains for efficient light emission under strain.
• Achieved luminance exceeding 1000 cd/m² with low turn-on voltage (<5 V_on).
• Demonstrated stable light-emitting performance up to 100% strain, even after 1000 stretching cycles.

Conclusions:

• Successfully developed intrinsically stretchable RGB light-emitting films using a polymer blend strategy.
• The engineered films offer high luminance and excellent stretchability, overcoming previous color limitations.
• These materials are promising for creating advanced, full-color, skin-like wearable displays.