Jinyong Zhuang

Homoleptic tris-cyclometalated iridium( iii ) complexes with phenylimidazole ligands for highly efficient sky-blue OLEDs

As an extension of our previous study, three sky-blue homoleptic iridium(III) complexes 1–3 with fluorine-free phenylimidazole ligands were synthesized and their photophysical, electrochemical and thermal properties were studied. All the complexes showed high photoluminescence quantum yields ranging from 0.50 to 0.53. The introduction of a bulky isopropyl group at the 2,6-position of N-phenyl of the phenylimidazole ligands increases the quantum yield and the decomposition temperature of the iridium(III) complexes. As the conjugated system of the ligand becomes larger, a very small bathochromic-shift of 1 nm was observed in complex 3 (475 nm) compared with complexes 1 (474 nm) and 2 (474 nm). All the OLED devices showed high current efficiencies of over 20 cd A−1 at the luminance of 1000 cd m−2. Devices incorporated with complexes 1–3 all showed longer lifetime in comparison with that of a FIrpic-based device.

Performance improvement of organic light emitting diode with aluminum oxide buffer layer for anode modification

A thin Al2O3 insulating buffer layer deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) anode by atomic layer deposition has been investigated for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). With an optimal thickness of 1.4 nm and low density of structural defects of the Al2O3 film, the OLEDs current efficiency and power efficiency were simultaneously improved by 12.5% and 23.4%, respectively. The improvements in both current and power efficiency mean lower energy loss during holes injection process and better balanced charge injection. To understand the mechanism behind the enhanced performance of OLED by the buffer layer, a series of Al2O3 films of different thicknesses were deposited on ITO anode and characterized. The roughness, sheet resistance, and surface potential (EF′) of the Al2O3 modified ITO were characterized. Also, the properties of Al2O3 films were investigated at the device level. It is believed that the block of holes injection by the Al2O3 buffer layer makes more balanced carrier density in the emitting lay...

Novel ternary bipolar host material with carbazole, triazole and phosphine oxide moieties for high efficiency sky-blue OLEDs

A novel bipolar host material 9-(3-(5-(4-(diphenylphosphoryl)phenyl)-4-phenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)phenyl)-9H-carbazole (CTPO) with carbazole, triazole and phosphine oxide moieties was designed and synthesized. CTPO was found to exhibit a high glass transition temperature (Tg = 127 °C), suitable HOMO and LUMO levels (5.65 and 2.42 eV), a high triplet energy (3.06 eV) and excellent bipolar properties. A device with 15 wt% doping concentration showed a low turn-on voltage of 2.5 V and maximum current and power efficiencies of 41.6 cd A−1 and 43.0 lm W−1, respectively. A high efficiency of 40.1 cd A−1 was achieved at the brightness of 100 cd m−2. Even at a high luminance of 1000 cd m−2, the efficiency remained as high as 35.2 cd A−1.

Highly Air-Stable Electron-Transport Material for Ink-Jet-Printed OLEDs

A novel cross-linkable electron-transport material has been designed and synthesized for use in the fabrication of solution-processed OLEDs. The material exhibits a low LUMO level of -3.51 eV, a high electron mobility of 1.5×10-5  cm2  V-1  s-1 , and excellent stability. An average 9.3 % shrinkage in film thickness was observed for the film after thermal curing. A maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 15.6 % (35.0 cd A-1 ) was achieved for blue-phosphorescent OLEDs by spin-coating and 13.8 % (31.0 cd A-1 ) for an ink-jet-printed device, both of which are better than the EQE of a control device prepared by vacuum-deposition (see figure).

Enhanced performance for organic light-emitting diodes by embedding an aerosol jet printed conductive grid

A simple and low-cost method for improving organic light-emitting diode (OLED) performance by printing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) : poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT : PSS) grids on the anode is demonstrated. The PEDOT : PSS grids were printed by an aerosol jet printer on the ITO anode surface. The maximum current efficiency of the OLED modified with the PEDOT : PSS grids is 1.92 times higher than a conventional device. The power efficiency enhancement factor is 2.3 at the current density of 740 mA cm(-2). The enhancement in performance can be attributed to the light extraction and conductivity of the embedded low-index grids.

Embedded Ag/Ni Metal-Mesh with Low Surface Roughness As Transparent Conductive Electrode for Optoelectronic Applications

Metal-mesh is one of the contenders to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) as transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) for optoelectronic applications. However, considerable surface roughness accompanying metal-mesh type of transparent electrodes has been the root cause of electrical short-circuiting for optoelectronic devices, such as organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and organic photovoltaic (OPV). In this work, a novel approach to making metal-mesh TCE has been proposed that is based on hybrid printing of silver (Ag) nanoparticle ink and electroplating of nickel (Ni). By polishing back the electroplated Ni, an extremely smooth surface was achieved. The fabricated Ag/Ni metal-mesh TCE has a surface roughness of 0.17 nm, a low sheet resistance of 2.1 Ω/□, and a high transmittance of 88.6%. The figure of merit is 1450, which is 30 times better than ITO. In addition, the Ag/Ni metal-mesh TCE shows outstanding mechanical flexibility and environmental stability at high temperature and humidity. Using the polished Ag/Ni metal-mesh TCE, a flexible quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) was fabricated with an efficiency of 10.4 cd/A and 3.2 lm/W at 1000 cd/m2.

Pyridine-Based Electron-Transport Materials with High Solubility, Excellent Film-Forming Ability, and Wettability for Inkjet-Printed OLEDs

Film morphology has predominant influence on the performance of multilayered organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), whereas there is little reported literature from the angle of the molecular level to investigate the impact on film-forming ability and device performance. In this work, four isomeric cross-linkable electron-transport materials constructed with pyridine, 1,2,4-triazole, and vinylbenzyl ether groups were developed for inkjet-printed OLEDs. Their lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (∼3.20 eV) and highest occupied molecular orbital (∼6.50 eV) levels are similar, which are mainly determined by the 1,2,4-triazole groups. The triplet energies of these compounds can be tuned from 2.51 to 2.82 eV by different coupling modes with the core of pyridine, where the 2,6-pyridine-based compound has the highest value of 2.82 eV. Film formation and solubility of the compounds were investigated. It was found that the 2,6-pyridine-based compound outperformed the 2,4-pyridine, 2,5-pyridine, and 3,5-pyridine-based compounds. The spin-coated blue OLEDs based on the four compounds have achieved over 14.0% external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) at the luminance of 100 cd m-2, and a maximum EQE of 12.1% was obtained for the inkjet-printed device with 2,6-pyridine-based compound.

Surface treatment on polyethylenimine interlayer to improve inverted OLED performance

Polyethylenimine (PEI) interlayer rinsing with different solvents for inverted organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) is systematically studied in this paper. In comparison with the pristine one, the maximum current efficiency (CE max) and power efficiency (PE max) are enhanced by 21% and 22% for the device rinsing by ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EEA). Little effect is found on the work function of the PEI interlayer rinsed by deionized water (DI), ethanol (EtOH), and EEA. On the other hand, the surface morphologies of PEI through different solvent treatments are quite different. Our results indicates that the surface morphology is the key to improving the device performance for IOLED as the work function of PEI keeps stable.

A printed aluminum cathode with low sintering temperature for organic light-emitting diodes

A printed aluminum cathode with low sintering temperature has been achieved using an aluminum precursor ink, AlH3·O(C3H7)2, which in the presence of a TiCl4 catalyst can be printed to give the required pattern and then sintered at 80 °C for 30 s to form an Al film. The Al cathode of 50 nm thickness has a sheet resistance of 2.09 Ω □−1 and work function of 3.67 eV. The study demonstrates that the low sintering temperature and work function of the printed film, together with its high conductivity and stability, mean that it is well suited for use as an OLED cathode and that it paves the way for fully printed flexible devices.

Hybrid Printing Metal-mesh Transparent Conductive Films with Lower Energy Photonically Sintered Copper/tin Ink

With the help of photonic sintering using intensive pulse light (IPL), copper has started to replace silver as a printable conductive material for printing electrodes in electronic circuits. However, to sinter copper ink, high energy IPL has to be used, which often causes electrode destruction, due to unreleased stress concentration and massive heat generated. In this study, a Cu/Sn hybrid ink has been developed by mixing Cu and Sn particles. The hybrid ink requires lower sintering energy than normal copper ink and has been successfully employed in a hybrid printing process to make metal-mesh transparent conductive films (TCFs). The sintering energy of Cu/Sn hybrid films with the mass ratio of 2:1 and 1:1 (Cu:Sn) were decreased by 21% compared to sintering pure Cu film, which is attributed to the lower melting point of Sn for hybrid ink. Detailed study showed that the Sn particles were effectively fused among Cu particles and formed conducting path between them. The hybrid printed Cu/Sn metal-mesh TCF with line width of 3.5 μm, high transmittance of 84% and low sheet resistance of 14 Ω/□ have been achieved with less defects and better quality than printed pure copper metal-mesh TCFs.