High-performance bipolar host materials for blue TADF devices with excellent external quantum efficiencies?

Journal of Materials Chemistry C Pub Date: 2016-04-04 DOI: 10.1039/C6TC00385K

Abstract

New bipolar host molecules composed of carbazole, pyridoindole, and dibenzothiophene (DBT) were synthesized for blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF)-based organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). 2,8-Di(9H-carbazol-9-yl)dibenzo[b,d]thiophene, 9-(8-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)dibenzo[b,d]thiophen-2-yl)-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole, and 2,8-bis(9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indol-9-yl)dibenzo[b,d]thiophene were prepared based on the selective reactivity at the 2,8-positions of DBT. The new symmetric and asymmetric host materials exhibited high triplet energies (2.89–2.95 eV). 4,5-Di(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phthalonitrile (2CzPN) was selected as an emitting dopant for achieving sky-blue emissions in TADF-OLEDs. 2CzPN-doped TADF-OLEDs, whose configuration is ITO (50 nm)/HATCN (7 nm)/TAPC (75 nm)/host:6% 2CzPN (20 nm)/TmPyPB (50 nm)/LiF (15 nm)/Al (100 nm), showed low driving voltages and high external quantum efficiencies (EQEs). These results are attributed to the well-controlled bipolar character of the host giving a better charge balance in the emitting layer. In particular, the device containing ZDN:6% 2CzPN showed an unprecedentedly high EQE of 25.7% (at 0.074 mA cm?2).

Graphical abstract: High-performance bipolar host materials for blue TADF devices with excellent external quantum efficiencies
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