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A Dynamic Liquid Metal Bridging Strategy for Intrinsically Stretchable OLEDs
Qian Xue1, Xiang-Chun Li1, Ren-Fa Liu1
1State Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (LoFE), Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), School of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, Nanjing, China.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|August 6, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a novel liquid metal strategy for intrinsically stretchable organic light-emitting diodes (is-OLEDs). This approach enhances cathode performance under strain, enabling stable, high-efficiency, stretchable displays.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Electronics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Intrinsically stretchable organic light-emitting diodes (is-OLEDs) face performance limitations due to brittle metal cathodes.
- A key challenge is balancing cathode conductivity and reflectivity with mechanical flexibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To overcome the mechanical limitations of metal cathodes in is-OLEDs.
- To develop a novel cathode strategy for enhanced stretchability and stable performance.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a silver/eutectic gallium-indium (Ag/EGaIn) composite cathode using a dynamic liquid metal bridging strategy.
- Integration of EGaIn droplets onto an ultrathin Ag film acting as a seed layer.
- Development of a stretchable emissive layer by blending emissive polymer with styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS).
Main Results:
- The Ag/EGaIn cathode effectively bridges microcracks in the Ag film under tensile strain, preserving electron injection and reflectivity.
- The composite cathode demonstrated stabilized electrical properties during stretching due to EGaIn's fluidity and minor Ag-Ga alloying.
- The resulting is-OLEDs achieved high luminance (11,800 cd/m²) and current efficiency (10.1 cd/A), maintaining uniform electroluminescence up to 80% strain.
- The strategy was successfully applied to red, green, and blue devices.
Conclusions:
- The dynamic liquid metal bridging strategy offers a promising solution for high-performance, mechanically robust is-OLEDs.
- This approach enables stable operation under significant strain, paving the way for advanced stretchable electronic applications.
- The developed technology holds potential for multicolor stretchable display applications.
