Chi-Ping Liu

High-efficiency blue organic light-emitting diodes using a 3,5-di(9H-carbazol-9-yl)tetraphenylsilane host via a solution-process

We present a solution-processed blue organic light-emitting diode (OLED) with markedly high current efficiency of 41.2 cd A−1 at 100 cd m−2 and 31.1 cd A−1 at 1000 cd m−2. The high efficiency was partly attributed to the use of a molecular host, 3,5-di(9H-carbazol-9-yl)tetraphenylsilane, which possesses a wide triplet band gap, high carrier mobility, ambipolar transport property and high glass transition temperature. Besides the intrinsically good physical properties, the solution-process also played an important role in fabricating the high-efficiency device, since it could make the molecular distribution of host and guest homogeneous in the emissive layer. Moreover, the device efficiency at higher brightness could be markedly enhanced by using an electron-blocking layer. As the microlens was introduced on the glass substrate to enhance the light outcoupling, the resultant device efficiency of the blue OLED further increased to 50.1 cd A−1 at 100 cd m−2 and 37.3 cd A−1 at 1000 cd m−2.

Effect of fabrication parameters on three-dimensional nanostructures of bulk heterojunctions imaged by high-resolution scanning ToF-SIMS.

Solution processable fullerene and copolymer bulk heterojunctions are widely used as the active layers of solar cells. In this work, scanning time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is used to examine the distribution of [6,6]phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and regio-regular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (rrP3HT) that forms the bulk heterojunction. The planar phase separation of P3HT:PCBM is observed by ToF-SIMS imaging. The depth profile of the fragment distribution that reflects the molecular distribution is achieved by low energy Cs(+) ion sputtering. The depth profile clearly shows a vertical phase separation of P3HT:PCBM before annealing, and hence, the inverted device architecture is beneficial. After annealing, the phase segregation is suppressed, and the device efficiency is dramatically enhanced with a normal device structure. The 3D image is obtained by stacking the 2D ToF-SIMS images acquired at different sputtering times, and 50 nm features are clearly differentiated. The whole imaging process requires less than 2 h, making it both rapid and versatile.

Extraordinarily high efficiency improvement for OLEDs with high surface-charge polymeric nanodots.

The efficiency of highly efficient blue, green, red, and white organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) has been substantially advanced through the use of high surface-charge nanodots embedded in a nonemissive layer. For example, the blue OLEDs markedly high initial power efficiency of 18.0 lm W(-1) at 100 cd m(-2) was doubled to 35.8 lm W(-1) when an amino-functionalized polymeric nanodot was employed. At high luminance, such as 1000 cd m(-2) used for illumination applications, the efficiency was improved from 12.4 to 21.2 lm W(-1), showing a significant enhancement of 71%. The incorporated highly charged nanodots are capable of effectively modulating the transportation of holes via a blocking or trapping mechanism, preventing excessive holes from entering the emissive layer and the resulting carrier-injection imbalance. Furthermore, in the presence of a high-repelling or dragging field arising from the highly charged nanodots, only those holes with sufficient energy are able to overcome the included barriers, causing them to penetrate deeper into the emissive layer. This penetration leads to carrier recombination over a wider region and results in a brighter emission and, therefore, higher efficiency.

Effect of surface chemical composition on the surface potential and iso-electric point of silicon substrates modified with self-assembled monolayers

Self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-modified nano-materials are a new technology to deliver drug molecules. While the majority of these depend on covalently immobilizing molecules on the surface, it is proposed that electrostatic interactions may be used to deliver drugs. By tuning the surface potential of solid substrates with SAMs, drug molecules could be either absorbed on or desorbed from substrates through the difference in electrostatic interactions around the selected iso-electric point (IEP). In this work, the surface of silicon substrates was tailored with various ratios of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) and 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS), which form amine- and thiol-bearing SAMs, respectively. The ratio of the functional groups on the silicon surface was quantified by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS); in general, the deposition kinetics of APTMS were found to be faster than those of MPTMS. Furthermore, for solutions with high MPTMS concentrations, the relative deposition rate of APTMS increased dramatically due to the acid-base reaction in the solution and subsequent electrostatic interactions between the molecules and the substrate. The zeta potential in aqueous electrolytes was determined with an electro-kinetic analyzer. By depositing SAMs of binary functional groups in varied ratios, the surface potential and IEP of silicon substrates could be fine-tuned. For <50% amine concentration in SAMs, the IEP changed linearly with the chemical composition from <2 to 7.18. For higher amine concentrations, the IEP slowly increased with concentration to 7.94 because the formation of hydrogen-bonding suppressed the subsequent protonation of amines.

Effect of Fabrication Parameters on Three-Dimensional Nanostructures and Device Efficiency of Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes

By using 10 kV C(60)(+) and 200 V Ar(+) ion co-sputtering, a crater was created on the light-emitting layer of phosphorescent polymer light-emitting diodes, which consisted of a poly(9-vinyl carbazole) (PVK) host doped with a 24 wt % iridium(III)bis[(4,6-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N,C(2)] (FIrpic) guest. A force modulation microscope (FMM) was used to analyze the nanostructure at the flat slope near the edge of the crater. The three-dimensional distribution of PVK and FIrpic was determined based on the difference in their mechanical properties from FMM. It was found that significant phase separation occurred when the luminance layer was spin coated at 30 degrees C, and the phase-separated nanostructure provides a route for electron transportation using the guest-enriched phase. This does not generate excitons on the host, which would produce photons less effectively. On the other hand, a more homogeneous distribution of molecules was observed when the layer was spin coated at 60 degrees C. As a result, a 30% enhancement in device performance was observed.

Improving the electron mobility of TiO2 nanorods for enhanced efficiency of a polymer–nanoparticle solar cell

The poly(3-hexyl thiophene):TiO2 nanorod (P3HT:TiO2) solar cell has a better thermal stability than the P3HT:PCBM solar cell; however, the former has a lower power conversion efficiency (PCE) than the latter. We would like to enhance the PCE of P3HT:TiO2 solar cell by improving the electron mobility of anatase TiO2 nanorods. Two novel approaches: (1) ripening and (2) boron doping for TiO2 nanorods were explored. TiO2 nanorods were synthesized first by sol–gel process in the presence of an oleic acid surfactant at 98 °C for 10 h. The size of the TiO2 nanocrystal is about 35 nm in length and 5 nm in diameter. The insulating oleic acid on the TiO2 nanorods was replaced by pyridine (as-synthesized TiO2) for good compatibility and charge transport between P3HT and TiO2 in the application of hybrid P3HT:TiO2 nanorod solar cells. The crystallinity of the as-synthesized TiO2 nanorods was increased through ripening (120 °C, 24 h) by using an autoclave reactor while the size of the nanocrystals was not significantly changed. Boron doped TiO2 nanorods (B-doped TiO2) were synthesized using the same sol–gel process of as-synthesized TiO2 nanorods but by replacing 0.7 at.% Ti with B using boron n-butoxide instead of titanium tetraisopropoxide. The UV-Vis spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses indicate the B is present in TiO2 nanorods as substitutional defects which can be either Ti–O–B or O–Ti–B bonding, with a B 1 s binding energy of 192.1 eV. The ripening process is more effective at increasing the crystallinity of TiO2 nanorods than boron doping, as shown by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. The electron mobility of the TiO2 nanorods is improved from 6.21×10−5 to 2.33×10−4 (cm2 V−1 s) and 5.27×10−4 (cm2 V−1 s) for ripened TiO2 and B-doped TiO2, respectively, as compared with as-synthesized TiO2. The PCE of P3HT:TiO2 solar cells was increased by 1.31 times and 1.79 times under A. M. 1.5 illumination for ripened and B-doped TiO2, respectively, as compared with as-synthesized TiO2. The B-doped TiO2 has the highest mobility and PCE, mainly due to the presence of partially reduced Ti4+ by boron atom with delocalized electrons.

Molecular dynamic-secondary ion mass spectrometry (D-SIMS) ionized by co-sputtering with C60+ and Ar+

Dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry (D-SIMS) analysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was conducted using a quadrupole mass analyzer with various combinations of continuous C(60)(+) and Ar(+) ion sputtering. Individually, the Ar(+) beam failed to generate fragments above m/z 200, and the C(60)(+) beam generated molecular fragments of m/z ~1000. By combining the two beams, the auxiliary Ar(+) beam, which is proposed to suppress carbon deposition due to C(60)(+) bombardment and/or remove graphitized polymer, the sputtering range of the C(60)(+) beam is extended. Another advantage of this technique is that the high sputtering rate and associated high molecular ion intensity of the C(60)(+) beam generate adequate high-mass fragments that mask the damage from the Ar(+) beam. As a result, fragments at m/z ~900 can be clearly observed. As a depth-profiling tool, the single C(60)(+) beam cannot reach a steady state for either PET or PMMA at high ion fluence, and the intensity of the molecular fragments produced by the beam decreases with increasing C(60)(+) fluence. As a result, the single C(60)(+) beam is suitable for profiling surface layers with limited thickness. With C(60)(+)-Ar(+) co-sputtering, although the initial drop in intensity is more significant than with single C(60)(+) ionization because of the damage introduced by the auxiliary Ar(+), the intensity levels indicate that a more steady-state process can be achieved. In addition, the secondary ion intensity at high fluence is higher with co-sputtering. As a result, the sputtered depth is enhanced with co-sputtering and the technique is suitable for profiling thick layers. Furthermore, co-sputtering yields a smoother surface than single C(60)(+) sputtering.

Materials chemistry communications. Difluorosilylene as a precursor for the chemical vapour deposition of titanium silicide

A new method for preparing thin films of titanium silicide, TiSi2, by chemical vapour deposition of difluorosilylene and titanium tetrachloride is reported.