Syntheses, Photoluminescence, and Electroluminescence of a Series of Sublimable Bipolar Cationic Cuprous Complexes with Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence.

Three thermally activated delayed fluorescence cationic cuprous complexes [Cu(POP) (ECAF)]PF6 (1, POP = bis(2-diphenylphosphinophenyl)ether, ECAF = 9,9-bis(9-ethylcarbazol-3-yl)-4,5-diazafluorene), [Cu(POP) (EHCAF)]PF6 (2, EHCAF = 9,9-bis(9-ethylhexylcarbazol-3-yl)-4,5-diazafluorene), and [Cu(POP) (PCAF)]PF6 (3, PCAF = 9,9-bis(9-phenylcarbazaol-3-yl)-4,5-diazafluorene) with bipolar 4,5-diazafluorene ligand substituted by bis-carbazole have been successfully prepared, and their UV absorption, photoluminescent properties, and electrochemical behaviors were investigated. At room temperature, complexes 1, 2, and 3 exhibit efficient yellowish-green emission with peak maxima of 550, 549, and 556 nm, respectively, and lifetimes of 5.7 µs. In powder states, the quantum yields (ϕPL) of 22.4% for 1, 18.5% for 2, and 20.0% for 3, respectively, are found. These metal phosphors can be vacuum-evaporated and applied in the organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) of indium tin oxide/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (40 nm)/4,4',4″-tri(9-carbazoyl)triphenylamine (15 nm)/cuprous complexes (10 wt %): 1,3-bis(9-carbazolyl)benzene (30 nm)/1,3,5-tri[(3-pyridyl)-phen-3-yl]benzene (50 nm)/LiF (0.5 nm)/Al (100 nm). Complex 1-based device D1 achieved a maximum luminance of 11 010 cd m-2, a current efficiency of 47.03 cd A-1, and an external quantum efficiency of 14.81%. The high electroluminescence efficiencies of these complexes are assumed to be due to their good thermal stabilities and capture of both singlet and triplet excitons. The research presented here provides a powerful tool toward highly efficient and cheap OLED devices.

Influence of SiO2 shell thickness on power conversion efficiency in plasmonic polymer solar cells with Au nanorod@SiO2 core-shell structures.

Locating core-shell metal nanoparticles into a photoactive layer or at the interface of photoactive layer/hole extraction layer is beneficial for fully employing surface plasmon energy, thus enhancing power conversion efficiency (PCE) in plasmonic organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs). Herein, we first investigated the influence of silica shell thickness in Au nanorods (NRs)@SiO2 core-shell structures on OPV performances by inserting them into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) and thieno[3,4-b]thiophene/benzodithiophene (PTB7) interface, and amazedly found that a 2-3 nm silica shell onto Au NRs induces a highest short-circuit current density of 21.2 mA cm(-2) and PCE of 9.55%. This is primarily due to an extremely strong local field and a much slower attenuation of localized surface plasmon resonance around ultrathin silica-coated Au NRs, with which the field intensity remains a high value in the active layer, thus sufficiently improves the absorption of PTB7. Our work provides a clear design concept on precise control of the shell of metal nanoparticles to realize high performances in plasmonic OPVs.