In situ investigation of energy transfer in hybrid organic/colloidal quantum dot light-emitting diodes via magneto-electroluminescence.

Energy transfer (ET) and charge injection (CI) in the hybrid organic/colloidal quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) have been investigated by using magneto-electroluminescence (MEL) as an in situ tool. The feasibility and availability of MEL as an in situ tool were systematically demonstrated in the typical QD-LEDs based on CdSe-ZnS core-shell QDs. Our results suggest that the ET and CI processes can be well discerned by MEL measurements since these two processes exhibit distinct responses to the applied magnetic field. Through measurement of the MEL and current efficiency, we indicated that ET would be the main mechanism for light emission in the present hybrid QD-LEDs. This study strongly suggests that MEL could be a highly sensitive fingerprint for ET, which provides a facile and efficient method for the in situ investigation of fundamental processes in hybrid organic/colloidal QD-LEDs and other organic/inorganic composites.

Photocurrent generation through electron-exciton interaction at the organic semiconductor donor/acceptor interface.

In this work, we report our effort to understand the photocurrent generation that is contributed via electron-exciton interaction at the donor/acceptor interface in organic solar cells (OSCs). Donor/acceptor bi-layer heterojunction OSCs, of the indium tin oxide/copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)/fullerene (C60)/molybdenum oxide/Al type, were employed to study the mechanism of photocurrent generation due to the electron-exciton interaction, where CuPc and C60 are the donor and the acceptor, respectively. It is shown that the electron-exciton interaction and the exciton dissociation processes co-exist at the CuPc/C60 interface in OSCs. Compared to conventional donor/acceptor bi-layer OSCs, the cells with the above configuration enable holes to be extracted at the C60 side while electrons can be collected at the CuPc side, resulting in a photocurrent in the reverse direction. The photocurrent thus observed is contributed to primarily by the charge carriers that are generated by the electron-exciton interaction at the CuPc/C60 interface, while charges derived from the exciton dissociation process also exist at the same interface. The mechanism of photocurrent generation due to electron-exciton interaction in the OSCs is further investigated, and it is manifested by the transient photovoltage characteristics and the external quantum efficiency measurements.

Improved electrical ideality and photoresponse in near-infrared phototransistors realized by bulk heterojunction channels.

The factors that affect the electrical ideality and photoresponse in near-infrared (NIR) organic phototransistors (OPTs) are still nebulous. Here, simultaneous increase in electrical ideality and NIR response in the OPTs is realized by applying a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) channel. The acceptor in the channel helps to trap the undesirable injected electrons, avoiding the accumulation of the electrons at the active channel/dielectric interface, and thereby improving the hole transporting. Use of a BHJ channel also helps reducing the contact resistance in the OPTs. The electrical stability is then improved with mitigated dependence of charge mobility on gate voltage in the saturation region. The BHJ channel also offers an improved photoresponse through enhanced exciton dissociation, leading to more than one order of magnitude increase in responsivity than that in a control OPT. The results are encouraging, which pave the way for the development of high-performing NIR OPTs.

Universal Flexible Lamination Encapsulation Strategy toward Underwater-Operation Electroluminescence Devices.

A reliable encapsulation technology with scalability and flexibility is urgently needed for electroluminescence devices. Here, we developed a simple, robust, low-cost, and scalable flexible lamination encapsulation strategy with quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) as the model devices. Multilayered Parafilm combining with calcium oxide buffer was used for the lamination encapsulation. We successfully demonstrated that such a Parafilm Lami encapsulation (PLE) not only allowed excellent protection for QLEDs in air but endowed QLED outstanding waterproof performance. As a result, highly efficient and stable flexible waterproof QLEDs were realized based on this PLE, exhibiting maximum external quantum efficiency of ∼8% and long half-luminescence lifetime of over 1.5 h in water. We believe that there are not any obstacles to extending this encapsulation technology to other flexible flat-panel devices, such as organic/perovskite light-emitting diodes.

Near-infrared and visible light dual-mode organic photodetectors.

We report a dual-mode organic photodetector (OPD) that has a trilayer visible light absorber/optical spacer/near-infrared (NIR) light absorber configuration. In the presence of NIR light, photocurrent is produced in the NIR light-absorbing layer due to the trap-assisted charge injection at the organic/cathode interface at a reverse bias. In the presence of visible light, photocurrent is produced in the visible light-absorbing layer, enabled by the trap-assisted charge injection at the anode/organic interface at a forward bias. A high responsivity of >10 A/W is obtained in both short and long wavelengths. The dual-mode OPD exhibits an NIR light response operated at a reverse bias and a visible light response operated at a forward bias, with a high specific detectivity of ~1013 Jones in both NIR and visible light ranges. A bias-switchable spectral response OPD offers an attractive option for applications in environmental pollution detection, bioimaging process, wellness, and security monitoring in two distinct bands.

Enhancing Crystalline Structural Orders of Polymer Semiconductors for Efficient Charge Transport via Polymer-Matrix-Mediated Molecular Self-Assembly.

A facile polymer-matrix-mediated molecular self-assembly of polymer semiconductors into highly crystalline orders for efficient charge transport in organic thin-film transistors is demonstrated. Phenomenal enhancements in field-effect mobility of about one order of magnitude and current on/off ratio of two to three orders of magnitude are realized with polyacrylonitrile-incorporated polymer semiconductor compositions via solution deposition.

Solution-Processed Donor-Acceptor Polymer Nanowire Network Semiconductors For High-Performance Field-Effect Transistors.

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) represent a low-cost transistor technology for creating next-generation large-area, flexible and ultra-low-cost electronics. Conjugated electron donor-acceptor (D-A) polymers have surfaced as ideal channel semiconductor candidates for OFETs. However, high-molecular weight (MW) D-A polymer semiconductors, which offer high field-effect mobility, generally suffer from processing complications due to limited solubility. Conversely, the readily soluble, low-MW D-A polymers give low mobility. We report herein a facile solution process which transformed a lower-MW, low-mobility diketopyrrolopyrrole-dithienylthieno[3,2-b]thiophene (I) into a high crystalline order and high-mobility semiconductor for OFETs applications. The process involved solution fabrication of a channel semiconductor film from a lower-MW (I) and polystyrene blends. With the help of cooperative shifting motion of polystyrene chain segments, (I) readily self-assembled and crystallized out in the polystyrene matrix as an interpenetrating, nanowire semiconductor network, providing significantly enhanced mobility (over 8 cm(2)V(-1)s(-1)), on/off ratio (10(7)), and other desirable field-effect properties that meet impactful OFET application requirements.

High-Efficiency Phosphorescent Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Light-Emitting Diodes Using a Solution-Processed Small-Molecule Emissive Layer.

The morphology and optical and electrical properties of solution-processed and vacuum-deposited 4,4',4″-tris(carbazol-9-yl)triphenylamine (TCTA):2,2'-(1,3-phenylene)bis[5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole] (OXD-7) composite films are investigated. All of the films exhibit smooth and pinhole-free morphology, while the evaporated films possess enhanced carrier-transport properties compared to solution-processed ones. The close correlation between the carrier-transport feature and the packing density of the film is established. High-efficiency monochromatic and white phosphorescent hybrid organic-inorganic light-emitting diodes with solution-processed small-molecule emissive layers are reported: the maximum external quantum efficiencies of blue, yellow, and red devices are 18.9, 14.6, and 10.2%, respectively; white devices show a maximum luminance efficiency of 40 cd A(-1) and a power efficiency of 20.8 lm W(-1) at 1000 cd m(-2). The efficiencies of blue, red, and white devices represent significant improvement over previously reported values.

Graphene quantum-dot-doped polypyrrole counter electrode for high-performance dye-sensitized solar cells.

Herein graphene quantum dot (GQD), a graphene material with lateral dimension less than 100 nm, is explored to dope PPy on F-doped tin oxide glass as an efficient counter electrode for high-performance dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The GQDs-doped PPy film has a porous structure in comparison to the densely structured plain PPy, and displays higher catalytic current density and lower charge transfer resistance than the latter toward I3(-)/I(-) redox reaction. The highest power conversion efficiency (5.27%) for DSSCs is achieved with PPy doped with10% GQDs, which is comparable to that of Pt counter electrode-based DSSCs. This work provides an inexpensive alternative to replace platinum for DSSCs.