We investigated a correlation between lifetime and the halogen element concentration in an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and conducted experiments and simulations to discuss degradation mechanisms due to the halogen. OELD is generally formed of high-purity materials. Since the synthesis of high-purity materials takes time and cost, quantitative understanding of the kind, amount, and influence of impurities in OLED devices is expected. The results of combustion ion chromatography show that, if the chlorine concentration in the host material is more than several parts per million, the lifetime of the device is drastically reduced. The chlorine element, which is derived from the chlorinated by-product of the host material, is found to be transferred from the chloride to other materials (e.g., an emissive dopant) according to the results of LC-MS analysis. In addition, the electron transport layer including such impurities is also found to adversely affect the lifetime. The results of TOF-SIMS analysis suggest that the dissociated chlorine element diffuse to the light-emitting layer side when the device is driven. The results of simulations (Gaussian 09) and electrochemical analyses (cyclic voltammetry and electrolysis) reveal that the halogen element is easy to dissociate from halide by excitation or reduction. The halogen element can repeat reactions with the peripheral materials by excitation or reduction and cause damages, e.g., generate radicals or further reaction products due to the radicals. The results of simulation suggest that, such compounds have low energy level and become quenchers.
We report a newly developed deep-blue phosphorescent iridium complex exhibiting a narrow emission spectrum. The use of this complex resulted in a deep-blue organic light-emitting diode (OLED) with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) exceeding 30%. Two iridium complexes with a 4H-1,2,4-triazole ligand which has an adamantyl group at the 4-position were synthesized, with the resulting effects of the adamantyl group on photoluminescence (PL) behavior investigated. [Ir(Adm1)3] having a 1-adamantyl group did not exhibit any emissions at room temperature, whereas [Ir(Adm2)3] having a 2-adamantyl group exhibited a blue emission with a peak wavelength of 459 nm and a high PL quantum yield of 0.94. Structural transformations between the ground state and excited state were estimated by molecular orbital calculations, which suggests that [Ir(Adm1)3] undergoes a considerably more extensive change than [Ir(Adm2)3]. It is therefore probable that [Ir(Adm1)3] ultimately experiences thermal deactivation owing to structural relaxation. Furthermore, an OLED was fabricated using [Ir(Adm2)3] as a dopant. The associated electroluminescence spectrum had an emission peak at 457 nm and a relatively small shoulder peak at 485 nm, which are consistent with the PL spectrum. A narrowed emission spectrum with a full width at half maximum of 58 nm was obtained, leading to a deep-blue emission with high color purity (CIE, x = 0.15, y = 0.22). This device ultimately exhibited an extremely high EQE of 32% at 2 mA/cm2, which was likely attributable to an increase in outcoupling efficiency via molecular orientation.
This study investigates an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) utilizing energy transfer from an excited complex (exciplex) comprising donor and acceptor molecules to a phosphorescent dopant. An exciplex has a very small energy gap between the lowest singlet and triplet excited states (S1 and T1). Thus, both S1 and T1 energies of the exciplex can be directly transferred to the T1 of the phosphorescent dopant by adjusting the emission energy of the exciplex to the absorption-edge energy of the dopant. Such an exciplex‒triplet energy transfer (ExTET) achieves high efficiency at low drive voltage because the electrical excitation energy of the exciplex approximates the T1 energy of the dopant. Furthermore, the efficiency of the reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) of the exciplex does not affect the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the ExTET OLED. The RISC of the exciplex is inhibited when the T1 energy of either donor or acceptor molecules is close to or lower than that of the exciplex itself. Even in this case, however, the ExTET OLED maintains its high efficiency because the T1 energy of each component of the exciplex or the T1 energy of the exciplex itself can be transferred to the dopant. We also varied the emission colors of ExTET OLEDs from sky-blue to red by introducing various phosphorescent dopants. These devices achieved high EQEs (≈30%), low drive voltages (≈3 V), and extremely long lifetimes (e.g., 1 million hours for the orange OLED) at a luminance of 1,000 cd/m2.
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