Electroluminescence efficiency and stability of near ultraviolet organic light-emitting diodes based on BCPO luminous materials

Abstract

To date, in the traditional method of obtaining near-ultraviolet (NUV) light, mercury atoms, which can create a highly toxic heavy metal contaminant, have been used. Therefore, it is an important issue to obtain NUV light by using new environmentally friendly devices. In the last decade, the fabrication of near ultraviolet organic light-emitting diodes (NUV-OLEDs) has become a research hotspot in the field of organic electronics. However, when the electroluminescence wavelength is extended to shorter than 400 nm, higher requirements are put forward for the materials used for each functional layer in these devices. In this work, a wide bandgap small molecule material of BCPO is used as the luminescent layer. The electron-transporting and hole-transporting materials are determined based on the overlaps between absorption spectra of these materials and emission spectrum of BCPO. And NUV-OLEDs with electroluminescent peak wavelength at 384 nm are prepared. By using the optimal device structure, the maximum external quantum efficiency of the device reaches 2.98%, and the maximum radiance of the device reaches 38.2 mW/cm². In the electroluminescence spectrum, NUV light with wavelengths below 400 nm accounts for 57% of the light emission. In addition, the device demonstrates good stability when biased at two different constant voltage modes. The multiple key factors which affect the stability of the device are analyzed in detail. Firstly, it is found that the high glass transition temperature (<i>T</i>_g) of hole-transporting material is very important for the long-time stability of this device. The poor device stability is closely related to the low <i>T</i>_g temperature of hole-transporting material. Secondly, due to the widespread use of PEDOT:PSS as hole injection material in OLEDs, the electron leakage from the hole-transpor layer into the PEDOT:PSS layer may cause significant damage to the conducting polymer. When bombarded with low energy electrons, bond breakage occurs on the surface of PEDOT:PSS, followed by the release of oxygen and sulfur, resulting in changes in conductivity and oxidation reactions with molecules of hole transport material. Thirdly, the photoelectrical stability of organic molecules is the most fundamental reason that restricts the device lifetime. The aging process of material or device is directly relevant to the bond dissociation energy (BDE) of organic molecule. Generally, the BDE value of organic molecule is not high enough. As a result, molecules are prone to chemical bond breakage during electrochemical or photochemical aging. In summary, highly stable NUV-OLEDs should be fabricated by using hole-transporting materials with high <i>T</i>_g temperature, sufficient electron-blocking capacity, and large BDE value.