Circularly polarized OLEDs from chiral plasmonic nanoparticle-molecule hybrids

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optoelectronics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are crucial for displays and lighting.
• Direct emission of circularly polarized (CP) light from OLEDs is vital for advanced technologies.
• Achieving high external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) and dissymmetry (gEL) factors in CP-OLEDs remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate efficient CP-OLEDs using chiral plasmonic nanoparticles and supramolecular aggregates.
• To investigate the role of chiral plasmonic nanoparticles as scaffolds and nanoantennas.
• To explore multiscale chirality transfer and plasmonic enhancement for improved CP-OLED performance.

Main Methods:

• Assembly of chiral plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) with supramolecular aggregates.
• Utilizing chiral plasmonic NPs to modulate light absorption and emission properties.
• Construction of various CP-OLEDs with different chiral NP designs.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated efficient CP-OLEDs with a high EQE of 2.5% and a large gEL factor of 0.31.
• Achieved emission dominated by either chiral excitons or chiral plasmons.
• Observed performance enhancement due to multiscale chirality transfer, plasmonic enhancement, and overshoot effect suppression.

Conclusions:

• Chiral plasmonic nanoparticles are effective in realizing efficient CP-OLEDs.
• The proposed methods are compatible with existing OLED manufacturing technologies.
• Chiral plasmonic NPs show significant promise for future chiral photoelectric devices.