Enhancing Horizontal Ratio of Transition Dipole Moment in Homoleptic Ir Complexes for High Outcoupling Efficiency of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

The light-emitting dipole orientation (EDO) of a phosphorescent emitter is a key to improving the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) without structural modification of the device. Here, four homoleptic Ir complexes as a phosphorescent emitter are systematically designed based on the molecular structure of tris(2-phenylpyridine)iridium(III) (Ir(ppy)3 ) to control the EDO. Trimethylsilane, methyl, 2-methylpropyl, and cyclopentylmethyl group substituted to pyridine ring of the ligand contribute to the improvement of the EDO from 76.5% for Ir(ppy)3 to 87.5%. A linear relationship between the EDO and the aspect ratio (geometric anisotropy factor) is founded, implying the importance of the effective area for the nonbonding force between host and dopant molecules. Also, it is investigated that the EDO enhancement mainly originates from the vertical alignment of the C3 axis of molecule in the substrate axis rather than the change in the direction of the transition dipole alignment in the molecular axis. The optical simulation reveals that the outcoupling efficiency of phosphorescent OLEDs adopting new dopants reaches 38.4%. The green OLEDs exhibiting 28.3% of EQE, 103.2 cd A-1 of current efficiency, and 98.2 lm W-1 of power efficiency are demonstrated, which is understood to have little electrical loss.

Exploring the Role of Surface States in Emissive Carbon Nanodots: Analysis at Single-Particle Level.

Fluorescent carbon nanodots (CDs) have been highlighted as promising semiconducting materials due to their outstanding chemical and optical properties. However, the intrinsic heterogeneity of CDs has impeded a clear understanding of the mechanisms behind their photophysical properties. In this study, as-prepared CDs are fractionated via chromatography to reduce their structural and chemical heterogeneity and analyzed through ensemble and single-particle spectroscopies. Many single particles reveal fluorescence intensity fluctuations between two or more discrete levels with bi-exponential decays. While the intrinsic τ1 components are uniform among single particles, the τ2 components from molecule-like emissions spans a wider range of lifetimes, reflecting the inhomogeneity of the surface states. Furthermore, it is concluded that the relative population and chemical states of surface functional groups in CDs have a significant impact on emissive states, brightness, blinking, stability, and lifetime distribution of photoluminescence.

Ancillary ligand increases the efficiency of heteroleptic Ir-based triplet emitters in OLED devices.

The excellent contrast ratio, visibility, and advantages in producing thin and light displays let organic light emitting diodes change the paradigm of the display industry. To improve future display technologies, higher electroluminescence efficiency is needed. Herein, the detailed study of the non-radiative decay mechanism employing density functional theory calculations is carried out and a simple, general strategy for the design of the ancillary ligand is formulated. It is shown that steric bulk properly directed towards the phenylisoquinoline ligands can significantly reduce the non-radiative decay rate.

Bright color optical switching device by polymer network liquid crystal with a specular reflector.

The color optical switching device by polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC) with color filter on a specular reflector shows excellent performance; white reflectance of 22%, color gamut of 32%, and contrast ratio up to 50:1 in reflective mode measurement. The view-angle dependence of the reflectance can be adjusted by changing the PNLC thickness. The color chromaticity shown by the device is close to the limit value of color filters, and its value nearly remains with respect to the operating voltage. These optical properties of the device can be explained from the prediction based on multiple interactions between the light and the droplets of liquid crystal. The high reflectance, vivid color image, and moderate responds time allow the PNLC device to drive good color moving image. It can widely extend the applications of the reflective device.

Synthesis and properties of salen-aluminum complexes as a novel class of color-tunable luminophores.

Showing their true colors? Full emission color tuning in the visible region can be achieved with salen-aluminum complexes that are electronically modulated at C5 of the phenoxide ring in the salen moiety. Emission spectra for various substituents R(5) are shown (EWG: electron-withdrawing group, EDG: electron-donating group).A series of salen-aluminum complexes, [{(R(5))(2)-salen(3-tBu)(2)}Al(OC(6)H(4)-p-C(6)H(5))] (salen=N,N'-bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine; R(5)=H (1), tBu (2), Br (3), Ph (4), OMe (5), NMe(2) (6)) and [{5,5'-(NMe(3))(2)-salen(3-tBu)(2)}Al(OC(6)H(4)-p-C(6)H(5))][OTf](2) (7; OTf=CF(3)SO(3)) that are electronically modulated directly at C5 of the phenoxide ring in the salen moiety has been prepared. The crystal structures of 1, 4, 6, and 7 determined by X-ray diffraction reveal distorted square-pyramidal geometries around the Al atoms. Complexes 1-7 are all air-stable in both the solid and solution states and have high thermal stability (decomp 313-338 degrees C). Differential scanning calorimetric analyses show that they can form amorphous glasses with glass transition temperatures of 95-132 degrees C depending on the C5 substituent. UV/Vis absorption spectra of the complexes exhibit major bands at lambda=338-413 nm assignable to salen-centered pi-pi* transitions with a gradual red shift of the absorption maximum wavelengths as the substituent is varied from an electron-withdrawing (NMe(3)) to an electron-donating group (NMe(2)). The maxima in the emission spectra of 1-7 occur over the entire visible region, ranging from lambda=438 nm for 7 to lambda=599 nm for 6, with high fluorescence quantum efficiencies of up to Phi=0.40 for 4 in solution. DFT calculations suggest that the low-energy electronic transitions in 1-7 are characterized by HOMO(-i)-LUMO(+1) (i=1 for 1-6 or i=4 for 7) transitions localized on the salen moiety, with much involvement of the C5 position in the HOMO(-i). Thus, the electronic alteration at the C5 position of the phenoxide ring, which mainly affects the HOMO(-i) energy levels of salen-Al luminophores, is responsible for the observed emission color-tuning properties over the entire visible region.

A novel solution-processible heterodinuclear AlIII/IrIII complex for host-dopant assembly OLEDs.

A discrete heterodinuclear Al (III)/Ir (III) complex shows bright-orange light emission when used as an active layer in host-dopant assembly organic light-emitting diodes based on a solution process.

Aluminium-salen luminophores as new hole-blocking materials for phosphorescent OLEDs.

The organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) employing complex [salen(tBu)4Al(OC6H4-p-C6H5)] (4) as a hole-blocking layer produced stable green EL emission of Ir(ppy)3 irrespective of changing current density and showed higher brightness and device efficiency than the BAlq-based device.