Chemical doping to control the in-situ formed doping structure in light-emitting electrochemical cells

The initial operation of a light-emitting electrochemical cell (LEC) constitutes the in-situ formation of a p-n junction doping structure in the active material by electrochemical doping. It has been firmly established that the spatial position of the emissive p-n junction in the interelectrode gap has a profound influence on the LEC performance because of exciton quenching and microcavity effects. Hence, practical strategies for a control of the position of the p-n junction in LEC devices are highly desired. Here, we introduce a "chemical pre-doping" approach for the rational shifting of the p-n junction for improved performance. Specifically, we demonstrate, by combined experiments and simulations, that the addition of a strong chemical reductant termed "reduced benzyl viologen" to a common active-material ink during LEC fabrication results in a filling of deep electron traps and an associated shifting of the emissive p-n junction from the center of the active material towards the positive anode. We finally demonstrate that this chemical pre-doping approach can improve the emission efficiency and stability of a common LEC device.