Strategic-tuning of radiative excitons for efficient and stable fluorescent white organic light-emitting diodes

Triarylboron-Based Dual Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Emitter for Single Molecule White Light-Emitting Diodes

Single-molecule emitters with dual thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) characteristics are very promising for application in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Rarely reported, organic dual-TADF materials, especially mechanochromic materials, are in demand. We present two donor-acceptor emitters, Mes*BA-Ac and FXylBA-Ac, which exhibit dual-TADF in the solid state due to the separation of HOMO and LUMO and strong intermolecular interactions. Their phase transition from amorphous to crystalline under stimuli leads to switchable TADF emissions. By blending Mes*BA-Ac with poly(methyl methacrylate), we achieve pure white light with Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.33, 0.32). Furthermore, single-molecule white organic light-emitting diodes (SM-WOLEDs) using Mes*BA-Ac have been fabricated, reaching a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) of 1.65% with CIE coordinates of (0.30, 0.31). More importantly, the dual-TADF emission mechanism enables the devices to maintain stable white-light emission across a relatively wide voltage range, providing valuable insights for the advancement of pure organic SM-WOLEDs.

Harmonization of rapid triplet up-conversion and singlet radiation enables efficient and stable white OLEDs

White organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) hold significant promise in illumination and displays, but achieving high efficiency while maintaining stability is an ongoing challenge. Here, we strategically combine a blue donor-acceptor thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitter featuring rapid reverse intersystem crossing rate and a yellow multi-resonance TADF emitter renowned for the fast radiative transition process to achieve warm WOLEDs with exceptional power efficiency exceeding 190 lm W-1 and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 39%, setting records for WOLEDs. Meanwhile, these devices also exhibit an extended operational lifetime (LT80) of 446 h at an initial luminance of 1000 cd m-2. Another group of blue and yellow emitters based on our strategy achieves a standard white emission and a high EQE of 35.6%, confirming the universality of our strategy. This work presents a versatile strategy to harmonize singlet exciton radiation and triplet exciton up-conversion, thus achieving a win-win situation of efficiency and stability.

A theoretical investigation of benzothiadiazole derivatives for high efficiency OLEDs

It is of great importance and worthy of efforts to give a clear structure-property relationship and microscopic mechanism of fluorescence emitters with high quantum yield. In this work, we perform a detailed computational investigation to give an explanation to the high efficiency of a fluorescence emitter XBTD-NPh based TADF sensitized fluorescence (TSF) OLEDs, and construct a symmetry structure DSBNA-BTD. Theoretical calculations show that XBTD-NPh is a long-time phosphorescent material at 77 K and TADF is attributed to the RISC of T1 to S1 state. For DSBNA-BTD, excitons arrived at T1 state comes to a large rate of nonradiatively path to the ground state, meaning it is may not be an efficient TADF molecule. For both molecules, the fast IC between T2 and T1 state results in that the hot exciton channel T1-Tn-S1 makes no contribution to the TADF.

Creation of High-Quality Deep-Blue AIE Emitter with a Crossed Long-Short Axis Structure for Efficient and Versatile OLEDs

Developing deep-blue emitters for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is critical but challenging, which requires a good balance between light color, exciton utilization, and photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of solid film. Herein, a high-quality deep-blue emitter, abbreviated 2TriPE-CzMCN, is designed by introducing an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) group into a crossed long-short axis (CLSA) skeleton. Theoretical and experimental investigations reveal that the CLSA molecular design can achieve a balance between deep-blue emission and triplet-excitons utilization, while the high PLQY of the solid film resulting from the AIE feature helps to improve the performance of OLEDs. Consequently, when 2TriPE-CzMCN is used as the emitting dopant, the OLED exhibits a deep-blue emission at 430 nm with a record-high maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 8.84%. When 2TriPE-CzMCN serves as the host material, the sensitized monochrome orange and two-color white OLEDs (WOLEDs) realize high EL performances that exceed the efficiency limit of conventional fluorescent OLEDs. Moreover, high-performance three-color WOLEDs with a color rendering index (CRI) exceeding 90 and EQE up to 18.08% are achieved by using 2TriPE-CzMCN as the blue-emitting source. This work demonstrates that endowing CLSA molecule with AIE feature is an effective strategy for developing high-quality deep-blue emitters, and high-performance versatile OLEDs can be realized through rational device engineering.

White Light Emission via Dual Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence from a Single-Component Phenothiazines-Diphenyl Quinoline Conjugate

White light emission (WLE) via dual thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) from a single-component-based organic system remains challenging as a result of the difficulty in design. Here, we introduce a conformational isomerization approach to achieve WLE from a twisted donor-acceptor (PTzQP1) that comprises two phenothiazines covalently attached to the 6,8-isomeric positions of 2,4-diphenyl quinoline via two C-N single bonds. Spectroscopic studies and quantum chemistry calculations revealed that PTzQP1 shows WLE via simultaneous blue TADF and orange TADF covering the visible range (420-800 nm) with a photoluminescence quantum yield of 45 ± 2% and Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage (CIE) coordinates of 0.30, 0.33. The dual TADF features with high rates of reverse intersystem crossing (kRISC1 = 1.38 × 107 ± 0.24 s-1 and kRISC2 = 5.04 × 106 ± 0.32 s-1) are realized as a result of the low singlet-triplet gaps (S1EQ-T1EQ = 0.04 eV and S1QA-T1QA = 0.05 eV) of the quasi-axial (QA) and quasi-equatorial (QE) conformers. This finding is expected to provide a new direction for designing high-energy-efficient WLE emitters.

Simultaneously Realizing High Efficiency and High Color Rendering Index for Hybrid White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes by Ultra-Thin Design of Delayed Fluorescence Sensitized Phosphorescent Layers

In consideration of energy economization and light quality, concurrently attaining high external quantum efficiency (ηext ) and high color rendering index (CRI) is of high significance for the commercialization of hybrid white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) but is challenging. Herein, a blue luminescent molecule (2PCz-XT) consisting of a xanthone acceptor and two 3,6-diphenylcarbazole donors is prepared, which exhibits strong delayed fluorescence, short delayed fluorescence lifetime, and excellent electroluminescence property, and can sensitize green, orange, and red phosphorescent emitters efficiently. By employing 2PCz-XT as sensitizer and phosphorescent emitters as dopants, efficient two-color and three-color WOLED architectures with ultra-thin phosphorescent emitting layers (EMLs) are proposed and constructed. By incorporating a thin interlayer to modulate exciton recombination zone and reduce exciton loss, high-performance three-color hybrid WOLEDs are finally achieved, providing a high ηext of 26.8% and a high CRI value 83 simultaneously. Further configuration optimization realizes a long device operational lifetime. These WOLEDs with ultra-thin phosphorescent EMLs are among the state-of-the-art hybrid WOLEDs in the literature, demonstrating the success and applicability of the proposed device design for developing robust hybrid WOLEDs with superb efficiency and color quality.

Doping-Free Phosphorescent and Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with an Ultra-Thin Emission Layer

We report the electroluminescence (EL) characteristics of blue ultra-thin emissive layer (U-EML) phosphorescent (PH) organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) OLED. A variety of transport layer (TL) materials were used in the fabricated OLEDs. The well-known FIrpic and DMAC-DPS were used with a thickness of 0.3 nm, which is relatively thicker than the optimal thickness (0.15 nm) of the blue phosphorescent ultra-thin emissive layer to ensure sufficient energy transfer. While FIrpic showed overall high efficiency in various TLs, DMAC-DPS exhibited three times lower efficiency in limited TLs. To clarify/identify low efficiency and to improve the EL, the thickness of DMAC-DPS was varied. A significantly higher and comparable efficiency was observed with a thickness of 4.5 nm, which is 15 times thicker. This thickness was oriented from the TADF itself, which reduces quenching in a triplet-triplet annihilation compared to the PH process. The thinner optimal thickness compared with ~30 nm of fluorescent OLEDs suggests that there still is quenching taking place. We expect that the efficiency of TADF U-EML OLEDs can be enhanced through further research on controlling the exciton quenching using multiple U-EMLs with spacers and a novel material with a high energy transfer rate (ΔES-T).

Lanthanide complexes with d-f transition: new emitters for single-emitting-layer white organic light-emitting diodes

White organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) is a new generation of lighting technology and has stimulated wide-ranging studies. Despite the advantage of simple device structure, single-emitting-layer WOLEDs (SEL-WOLEDs) still face the challenges of difficult material screening and fine energy level regulation. Herein, we report efficient SEL-WOLEDs with a sky-blue emitting cerium(III) complex Ce-TBO^2Et and an orange-red emitting europium(II) complex Eu(Tp^2Et)₂ as the emitters, showing a maximum external quantum efficiency of 15.9% and Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage coordinates of (0.33, 0.39) at various luminances. Most importantly, the electroluminescence mechanism of direct hole capture and hindered energy transfer between the two emitters facilitate a manageable weight doping concentration of 5% for Eu(Tp^2Et)₂, avoiding the low concentration (<1%) of the low-energy emitter in typical SEL-WOLEDs. Our results indicate that d-f transition emitters may circumvent fine energy level regulation and provide development potential for SEL-WOLEDs.

White Fluorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with 100% Power Conversion

Energy-efficient lighting sources are desired to provide another solution of carbon emission reduction. White organic light-emitting diodes are promising, because of theoretical internal quantum efficiencies for 100% electric-to-light conversion. However, pure organic fluorescent materials still face a challenge in harvesting triplet excitons for radiation. Herein, we report a white fluorescent organic light-emitting diode having an external quantum efficiency of 30.7% and a power efficiency of 120.2 lm W-1. In the single emissive layers, we use blue thermally activated delayed fluorescent emitters to sensitize a yellow fluorescent emitter. Transient photoluminescence and electroluminescence analyses suggest that a blue thermally activated delayed fluorescent molecule with ~100% reverse intersystem crossing efficiency and negligible triplet nonradiative rate constant completely converts triplet to singlet, suppressing triplet quenching by a yellow fluorescent emitter and ensuring 100% power conversion.

All-fluorescence white organic light-emitting diodes with record-beating power efficiencies over 130 lm W‒1 and small roll-offs

Improving power efficiency (PE) and reducing roll-off are of significant importance for the commercialization of white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) in consideration of energy conservation. Herein, record-beating PE of 130.7 lm W⁻¹ and outstanding external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 31.1% are achieved in all-fluorescence two-color WOLEDs based on a simple sandwich configuration of emitting layer consisting of sky-blue and orange delayed fluorescence materials. By introducing a red fluorescence dopant, all-fluorescence three-color WOLEDs with high color rendering index are constructed based on an interlayer sensitization configuration, furnishing ultrahigh PE of 110.7 lm W⁻¹ and EQE of 30.8%. More importantly, both two-color and three-color WOLEDs maintain excellent PEs at operating luminance with smaller roll-offs than the reported state-of-the-art WOLEDs, and further device optimization realizes outstanding comprehensive performances of low driving voltages, large luminance, high PEs and long operational lifetimes. The underlying mechanisms of the impressive device performances are elucidated by host-tuning effect and electron-trapping effect, providing useful guidance for the development of energy-conserving all-fluorescence WOLEDs.

High power efficiency and low roll-off values are essential to the commercialization of white organic light-emitting diodes. Here, the authors construct all-fluorescence devices with an orange emitting layer sandwiched between two sky-blue emitting layers, achieving figure-of-merit of 130.7 lm/W.

Suppressing singlet-triplet annihilation processes to achieve highly efficient deep-blue AIE-based OLEDs

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) materials are attractive for the fabrication of high efficiency organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) by harnessing "hot excitons" from the high-lying triplet exciton states (T_n, n ≥ 2) and high photoluminescence (PL) quantum efficiency in solid films. However, the electroluminescence (EL) efficiency of most AIE-based OLEDs does not meet our expectation due to some unrevealed exciton loss processes. Herein, we further enhance the efficiency of blue AIE-based OLEDs, and find experimentally and theoretically that the serious exciton loss is caused by the quenching of radiative singlet excitons and long-lived triplet excitons [singlet-triplet annihilation (STA)]. In order to suppress the STA process, 1-(2,5-dimethyl-4-(1-pyrenyl)phenyl)pyrene (DMPPP) with triplet-triplet annihilation up-conversion was doped in two AIE emitters to reduce the triplet excitons on the lowest triplet excited state (T₁) of AIE molecules. It can be seen that the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the resulting blue OLEDs was enhanced to 11.8% with CIE coordinates of (0.15, 0.07) and a negligible efficiency roll-off, realizing the efficiency breakthrough of deep-blue AIE-based OLEDs. This work establishes a physical insight in revealing the exciton loss processes and the fabrication of high-performance AIE-based OLEDs.

All-Solution Processed Single-Layer WOLEDs Using [Pt(salicylidenes)] as Guests in a PFO Matrix

Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of two Pt(II) coordination compounds, the new platinum(II)[N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-3,4-diaminobenzophenone)] ([Pt(sal-3,4-ben)]) and the already well-known platinum(II)[N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-o-phenylenediamine] ([Pt(salophen)]), along with their application as guests in a poly [9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl] (PFO) conjugated polymer in all-solution processed single-layer white organic light-emitting diodes. Completely different performances were achieved: 2.2% and 15.3% of external quantum efficiencies; 2.8 cd A-1 and 12.1 cd A-1 of current efficiencies; and 3103 cd m-2 and 6224 cd m-2 of luminance for the [Pt(salophen)] and [Pt(sal-3,4-ben)] complexes, respectively. The Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE 1931) chromaticity color coordinates are (0.33, 0.33) for both 0.1% mol/mol Pt(II):PFO composites at between approximately 3.2 and 8 V. The optoelectronic properties of doped and neat PFO films have been investigated, using steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence. Theoretical calculations at the level of relativistic density functional theory explained these results, based on the presence of the Pt(II) central ion's phosphorescence emission, considering spin-orbit coupling relationships. The overall results are explained, taking into account the active layer morphological properties, along with the device's electric balance and the emitter's efficiencies, according to deep-trap space-charge models. Considering the very simple structure of the device and the ease of synthesis of such compounds, the developed framework can offer a good trade-off for solution-deposited white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs), with further applications in the field of lighting and signage.

Voltage-Dependent Emission Varying from Blue to Orange–Red from a Nondoped Organic Light-Emitting Diode with a Single Emitter

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with tunable emission colors, especially white OLEDs, have rarely been observed with a single emitter in a single emissive layer. In this paper, we report a new compound featuring a D–A–D structure, 9,9′-(pyrimidine-2,5-diylbis(2,1-phenylene))bis(3,6-di-tert-butyl-9H-carbazole) (PDPC). A nondoped OLED using this compound as a single emitter exhibits unique voltage-dependent dual emission. The emission colors range from blue to orange–red with an increase in voltage, during which white electroluminescence with a Commission Internationale De L’Eclairage (CIE) coordinate of (0.35, 0.29) and a color render index (CRI) value of 93 was observed. A comparative study revealed that the dual emission simultaneously originates from the monomers and excimers of the emitter. This study provides insight into understanding the multimer-excited mechanism and developing novel color-tunable OLEDs.

Color-Tunable All-Fluorescent White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with a High External Quantum Efficiency Over 30% and Extended Device Lifetime

White organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) with high efficiencies and tunable colors attracts considerable interest from the industry and academia. Thermally activated delayed-fluorescence (TADF) emitters can revolutionize such WOLED devices; however, they still suffer from poor performances. In this study, an advanced double-emissive-layer device architecture capable of hole-trapping TADF-sensitized emissions is proposed to not only achieve a recombination zone shift for the tunable colors but also accelerate exciton emission dynamics for high efficiency and alleviated roll-off. The proof-of-concept WOLEDs exhibit significant shifts in their Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates and correlated color temperatures from (0.40, 0.47) and 4088 K at 100 cd m^-2 to (0.27, 0.33) and 9269 K at 5000 cd m^-2 . Additionally, the maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) reaches 30.7% and remains >25% over a wide luminance range of 500-5000 cd m^-2 , along with an extended LT80 of over 20 000 h at an initial luminance of 100 cd m^-2 . This is the first time that all-fluorescent WOLEDs have been used to realize an EQE exceeding 30%, thereby establishing a new benchmark in this field.

Near-IR Intramolecular Charge Transfer in Strongly Interacting Diphenothiazene-TCBD and Diphenothiazene-DCNQ Push-Pull Triads

Three types of phenothiazines dimers (PTZ-PTZ, 1-3), covalently linked with one or two acetylene linkers, were synthesized by copper-mediated Eglinton and Pd-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reactions in excellent yields. The dimers 1-3 were further engaged in [2+2] cycloaddition-retroelectrocyclization reactions with strong electron acceptors, tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) and 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) to yield tetracyanobutadiene (TCBD, 1 a-3 a), and dicyanoquinodimethane (DCNQ, 1 b-3 b) functionalized donor-acceptor (D-A) conjugates, respectively. The conjugates were examined by a series of spectral, computational, and electrochemical studies. Strong ground state polarization leading to new optical transitions was witnessed in both series of D-A conjugates. In the case of DCNQ derived D-A system 1 b, the optical coverage extended until 1200 nm in benzonitrile, making this a rare class of D-A ICT system. Multiple redox processes were witnessed in these D-A systems, and the frontier orbitals generated on DFT optimized structures further supported the ICT phenomenon. Photochemical studies performed using femtosecond pump-probe studies confirmed solvent polarity dependent excited state charge transfer and separation in these novel multi-modular D-A conjugates. The charge-separated states lasted up to 70 ps in benzonitrile while in toluene slightly prolonged lifetime of up to 100 ps was witnessed. The significance of phenothiazine dimer in wide-band optical capture all the way into the near-IR region and promoting ultrafast photoinduced charge transfer in the D-A-D configured multi-modular systems, and the effect of donor-acceptor distance and the solvent polarity was the direct outcome of the present study.

Centimeter-scale hole diffusion and its application in organic light-emitting diodes

In conventional organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), current balance between electron and hole transport regions is typically achieved by leakage of the major carrier through the devices or by accumulation of the major carrier inside the devices. Both of these are known to reduce performances leading to reduction of efficiency and operation stability due to exciton-polaron annihilation, etc. We found that hole diffusion in a centimeter-scale can be achieved in a PEDOT:PSS layer via composition and interface engineering. This ultralong distance hole diffusion enables substantially enhanced hole diffusion current in the lateral direction perpendicular to the applied electric field in typical organic optoelectronic devices. By introducing this lateral hole diffusion layer (LHDL) at the anode side of OLEDs, reduced carrier accumulation, improved efficiency, and enhanced operation stability are demonstrated. The application of the LHDL provides a third strategy for current balancing with much reduced harmful effects from the previous two approaches.

High-efficiency hyperfluorescent white light-emitting diodes based on high-concentration-doped TADF sensitizer matrices via spatial and energy gap effects

Despite the success of monochromatic hyperfluorescent (HF) organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), high-efficiency HF white OLEDs (WOLEDs) are still a big challenge. Herein, we demonstrate HF WOLEDs with state-of-the-art efficiencies, featuring a quasi-bilayer emissive layer (EML) composed of an ultrathin (0.1 nm) blue fluorescence (FL) emitter (TBPe) layer and a layer of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) sensitizer matrix heavily doped with a yellow FL emitter (TBRb, 3%). Based on an asymmetric high-energy-gap TADF sensitizer host (PhCzSPOTz), such an “ultrathin blue emitting layer (UTBL)” strategy endowed the HF WOLEDs with a record power efficiency of ∼80 lm W⁻¹, approaching the level of fluorescent tubes. Transient photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) kinetics demonstrate that the spatial separation of TBPe from the TADF sensitizer and TBRb, and the large energy gap between the latter two effectively suppress triplet leakage, in addition to suppressing triplet diffusion in the PhCzSPOTz matrix with anisotropic intermolecular interactions. These results provide a new insight into the exciton allocation process in HF white light-emitting systems.

A thermally activated delayed fluorescence host was developed to realize high-efficiency fluorescence white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLED) through spatial and energy gap effects.

Improved stability of blue TADF organic electroluminescent diodes via OXD-7 based mixed host

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been demonstrated in applications such as displays and solid-state lightings. However, weak stability and inefficient emission of blue TADF OLEDs are two key bottlenecks limiting the development of solution processable displays and white light sources. This work presents a solution-processed OLED using a blue-emitting TADF small molecule bis[4-(9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine) phenyl]sulfone (DMAC-DPS) as an emitter. We comparatively investigated the effects of single host poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) and a co-host of 60% PVK and 30% 2,2'-(1,3-phenylene)-bis[5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole] (OXD-7) on the device performance (the last 10% is emitter DMAC-DPS). The co-host device shows lower turn-on voltage, similar maximum luminance, and much slower external quantum efficiency (EQE) rolloff. In other words, device stability improved by doping OXD-7 into PVK, and the device impedance simultaneously and significantly reduced from 8.6 × 10³ to 4.2 × 10³ Ω at 1000 Hz. Finally, the electroluminescent stability of the co-host device was significantly enhanced by adjusting the annealing temperature.

Weaving host matrices with intermolecular hydrogen bonds for high-efficiency white thermally activated delayed fluorescence

A thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) white organic light-emitting diode (WOLED) holds great promise for low-cost, large-scale lighting applications. Nevertheless, manipulating exciton allocation in a white TADF single layer is still a challenge. Herein, we demonstrate that the exciton kinetic process of dually doped white TADF films is strongly dependent on the grid regularity of the host matrix. Intermolecular hydrogen bonds (IHBs) are used to weave the matrices of two host molecules DPEQPO and DPSQPO featuring four phosphine oxide (PO) groups and different IHB orientations. The DPSQPO matrix forms regular grids to uniformly disperse and separate dopants, while DPEQPO exhibits chaotic IHBs, in turn inducing a heterogeneous dopant distribution. As a consequence, in both photoluminescence and electroluminescence processes, in contrast to DPEQPO hosted systems with comparable singlet Förster resonance energy transfer and triplet Dexter energy transfer, DPSQPO provides a FRET-predominant exciton allocation between blue and yellow dopants, which markedly suppresses triplet quenching and improves the white color purity, resulting in a state-of-the-art external quantum efficiency up to 24.2% of its single-emissive-layer pure-white TADF diode, in contrast to 16.0% for DPEQPO based analogs. These results indicate the significance of host engineering for exciton kinetics and suggest the feasibility of host grid design for developing high-performance TADF lighting.

A thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) white organic light-emitting diode (WOLED) holds great promise for low-cost, large-scale lighting applications.

Boosting external quantum efficiency to 38.6% of sky-blue delayed fluorescence molecules by optimizing horizontal dipole orientation

To achieve high electroluminescence efficiency, great efforts are devoted to enhancing photoluminescence quantum yield (Φ_PL) and exciton utilization of luminescent molecule, while another important factor, light out-coupling efficiency (η_out), receives less attention in molecule design. Here, we focus on horizontal dipole orientation engineering of the molecule to increase η_out and external quantum efficiency (η_ext). A series of tailor-made luminescent molecules consisting of an electron-accepting carbonyl core plus double electron-donating groups of spiro[acridine-9,9′-fluorene] and carbazole derivatives [e.g., 1,3,5-tri(carbazol-9-yl)benzene] are developed and systematically investigated. These molecules hold distinguished merits of strong sky-blue delayed fluorescence with excellent Φ_PL values, large horizontal dipole ratios, and balanced bipolar carrier transport, which furnish record-high η_ext values of up to 26.1 and 38.6% in nondoped and doped sky-blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), respectively. Moreover, the state-of-the-art nondoped hybrid white OLED and all-fluorescence single-emitting layer white OLED are also realized, demonstrating great potentials in OLED industry of these molecules.

Ladder-like energy-relaying exciplex enables 100% internal quantum efficiency of white TADF-based diodes in a single emissive layer

Development of white organic light-emitting diodes based on purely thermally activated delayed fluorescence with a single-emissive-layer configuration has been a formidable challenge. Here, we report the rational design of a donor-acceptor energy-relaying exciplex and its utility in fabricating single-emissive-layer, thermally activated delayed fluorescence-based white organic light-emitting diodes that exhibit 100% internal quantum efficiency, 108.2 lm W⁻¹ power efficiency, and 32.7% external quantum efficiency. This strategy enables thin-film fabrication of an 8 cm × 8 cm thermally activated delayed fluorescence white organic light-emitting diodes (10 inch²) prototype with 82.7 lm W⁻¹ power efficiency and 25.0% external quantum efficiency. Introduction of a phosphine oxide-based acceptor with a steric group to the exciplex limits donor-acceptor triplet coupling, providing dual levels of high-lying and low-lying triplet energy. Transient spectroscopic characterizations confirm that a ladder-like energy relaying occurs from the high-lying triplet level of the exciplex to a blue emitter, then to the low-lying triplet level of the phosphine oxide acceptor, and ultimately to the yellow emitter. Our results demonstrate the broad applicability of energy relaying in multicomponent systems for exciton harvesting, providing opportunities for the development of third-generation white organic light-emitting diode light sources.

Realizing efficient white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) with a single thermally-activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emissive layer remains a challenge. Here, the authors design energy-relaying exciplex hosts with multi-triplet excited states for efficient single-emissive-layer TADF WOLEDs.

Recent progress in hot exciton materials for organic light-emitting diodes

According to Kasha's rule, high-lying excited states usually have little effect on fluorescence. However, in some molecular systems, the high-lying excited states partly or even mainly contribute to the photophysical properties, especially in the process of harvesting triplet excitons in organic electroluminescent devices. In the current review, we focus on a type of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials called "hot exciton" materials, which can effectively harness the non-radiative triplet excitons via reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) from high-lying triplet states to singlet states (T_n→ S_m; n≥ 2, m≥ 1). Since Ma and Yang proposed the hot exciton mechanism for OLED material design in 2012, there have been many reports aiming at the design and synthesis of novel hot exciton luminogens. Herein, we present a comprehensive review of the recent progress in hot exciton materials. The developments of the hot exciton mechanism are reviewed, the fundamental principles regarding molecular design are discussed, and representative reported hot exciton luminogens are summarized and analyzed, along with their structure-property relationships and OLED applications.

A π-D and π-A Exciplex-Forming Host for High-Efficiency and Long-Lifetime Single-Emissive-Layer Fluorescent White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Exciplex-forming hosts with thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) provide a viable opportunity to unlock the full potential of the yet-to-be improved power efficiencies (PEs) and stabilities of all-fluorescent white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs), but this, however, is hindered by the lack of stable blue exciplexes. Here, an advanced exciplex system is proposed by incorporating bipolar charge-transport π-spacers into both the electron-donor (D) and the electron-accepter (A) to increase their distance for hypsochromic-shifted emission while maintaining the superior transporting ability. By using spirofluorene as the π-spacer, 3,3'-bicarbazole as the D-unit, and 2,4,6-triphenyl-1,3,5-triazine as the A-unit, a π-D and π-A exciplex with sky-blue emission and fast reverse intersystem crossing process is thereof constructed. Combining this exciplex-forming host, a blue TADF-sensitizer, and a yellow conventional fluorescent dopant in a single-emissive-layer, the fabricated warm-white-emissive device simultaneously exhibits a low driving voltage of 3.08 V, an external quantum efficiency of 21.4%, and a remarkable T80 (time to 80% of the initial luminance) of >8200 h at 1000 cd m^-2 , accompanied by a new benchmark PE of 69.6 lm W^-1 among all-fluorescent WOLEDs.

Recent Developments on Multi-Functional Metal-Free Mechanochromic Luminescence and Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Organic Materials

Metal-free organic compounds with highly ordered π-conjugated twisted skeletons are capable of generating brilliant multi-colored light. Additionally, the co-existence of numerous other multi-functional properties have endowed them with the potential to be a promising class of materials for several electronic and photonic applications and next-generation advanced luminescent material-based devices. This review highlights the recent developments made in this fascinating class of multi-property encompassing materials, involving a highly twisted donor-acceptor based single molecular platform with synchronized photophysical behavior such as thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), mechanoresponsive (MR), room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP), and aggregation induced emission (AIE) with associated unique and inherently manifested structure-property relationship investigations. Furthermore, a brief summary of the optoelectronic behavior of TADF materials are also presented by correlating their performances in the organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and corresponding EL devices. In addition to mechanochromic luminescence (MCL) with TADF behavior, new types of emitters are also being developed, with tunable color changes such as blue-green, yellow-orange, yellow-red, etc., with some emitters crossing the entire visible span to produce white OLEDs. These developments have enriched the library of fascinating organic materials in addition to providing new directions of multifunctional material design for solutions processed OLED and several other advanced devices.

Management of Delayed Fluorophor-Sensitized Exciton Harvesting for Stable and Efficient All-Fluorescent White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

White organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) using thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF)-based single emissive layer (SEL) have attracted enormous attention because of their simple device structure and full exciton utilization potential for high efficiency. However, WOLEDs made of an all-TADF SEL usually exhibit serious efficiency roll-off and poor color stability due to serious exciton-annihilation and unbalanced radiative decays of different TADF emitters. Herein, a new strategy is proposed to manipulate the TADF-sensitized fluorescence process by combining dual-host systems of high triplet energy with a conventional fluorescent emitter of complementary color. The multiple energy-funneling paths are modulated and short-range Dexter energy transfer is largely suppressed due to the steric effect of peripheral tert-butyl group in the blue TADF sensitizer. The resulting all-fluorescent WOLEDs achieve an unprecedentedly high external quantum efficiency of 21.8% with balanced white emission of Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage coordinate of (0.292, 0.343), accompanied with good color stability, reduced efficiency roll-off, and prolonged operational lifetime. These findings demonstrate the validity of this strategy for precisely allocating the exciton harvesting in SEL WOLEDs.

Pyrene[4,5-d]imidazole-Based Derivatives with Hybridized Local and Charge-Transfer State for Highly Efficient Blue and White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with Low Efficiency Roll-Off

A family of pyrene[4,5-d]imidazole derivatives, PyPA, PyPPA, PyPPAC, and PyPAC, with different excited states are successfully developed. Among them, PyPPA and PyPPAC possess hybridized local and charge-transfer (HLCT) state, endowing them with pure blue fluorescence as well as high quantum yields. The nondoped organic light-emitting diode (OLED) based on PyPPA displays Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates of (0.14, 0.13) and achieves a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 8.47%, which are among the highest value reported to date for nondoped blue HLCT OLEDs. The nondoped OLED based on PyPPAC exhibits a maximum luminance of 50,046 cd m^-2 located in the blue region with CIE coordinates of (0.15, 0.21) and an EQE of 6.74% even when the luminance reached over 10,000 cd m^-2. In addition, they both reveal ultimate exciton utilizing efficiencies of nearly 100%. The potential of a blue emitter of PyPPA with an HLCT character for application in white OLED (WOLED) is further tested. The efficient two-color hybrid warm WOLED is successfully achieved, which provides the total EQE, power efficiency, and current efficiency of up to 21.19%, 61.46 lm W^-1, and 62.13 cd A^-1, respectively. The nondoped blue OLEDs and hybrid WOLEDs present good color stabilities with low efficiency roll-offs. Our results prove that taking advantage of the HLCT state, nondoped blue OLEDs as well as hybrid WOLEDs with high performance could be realized, which have a promising prospect for the displays and lightings in the future.

Highly Efficient and Color-Stable Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence White Light-Emitting Diodes Featured with Single-Doped Single Emissive Layers

Despite their merits of environmental friendliness, low cost, and large-scale production, thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) based white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) for daily lighting applications still face the formidable challenges of structural simplification and controllable exciton allocation. Here, the state-of-the-art full-TADF WOLEDs with features of the single-doped single emissive layers (EMLs) and ultrasimple trilayer structure are demonstrated. The EMLs are binary systems as yellow TADF emitter (4CzTPNBu) doped blue TADF matrix (ptBCzPO₂ TPTZ) with the large steric hindrance and mismatched frontier molecular orbital energy levels to effectively restrain excessive blue-to-yellow triplet exciton transfer and host-dopant interaction induced triplet quenching. Simultaneously, Förster resonance energy transfer is utilized to optimize exciton allocation for the balance of blue and yellow emissions, giving rise to the photoluminescence quantum yield beyond 90%. Consequently, these single-doped EMLs endow their cool white, pure white, and warm white diodes with the high-quality and ultrastable white light and the 100% exciton utilization efficiencies through the extremely simple structures, making them competent for the diverse daily lighting applications.

Efficient Deep-Blue Fluorescent OLEDs with a High Exciton Utilization Efficiency from a Fully Twisted Phenanthroimidazole-Anthracene Emitter

A novel, efficient, deep-blue fluorescent emitter mPAC, with a meta-connected donor-acceptor structure containing phenanthroimidazole (PPI) as the donor and phenylcarbazole-substituted anthracene (An-CzP) as the acceptor, was designed and synthesized. The meta-linkage provided a highly twisted molecular conformation, which efficiently interrupts the intramolecular π-conjugation, resulting in a deep-blue emission. The optimized nondoped device based on mPAC displayed a deep-blue emission with a narrow full width at half-maximum of 56 nm and Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates of (0.16, 0.09). The maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE_max) is 6.76%, corresponding to a high exciton utilization efficiency (EUE) of 59.3-88.9%. Experimental results and theoretical analysis indicated that the high EUE is mainly ascribed to the reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) from T₂ to S₁, a "hot exciton" path in which the large T₂-T₁ energy gap (1.45 eV) and small T₂-S₁ energy difference (0.18 eV, T₂ > S₁) hamper the internal crossing from T₂ to T₁ and facilitate the RISC process. For the hot exciton path, the T₂ state can be feasibly arranged to a high energy level, forming a thermal equilibrium with S₁, even slightly higher than the deep-blue S₁ to realize an exergonic RISC process, which is usually difficult for the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters.