Xiao-Ke Liu

Novel Efficient Blue Fluorophors with Small Singlet‐Triplet Splitting: Hosts for Highly Efficient Fluorescence and Phosphorescence Hybrid WOLEDs with Simplified Structure

The exact hosts for F-P hybrid WOLEDs have been first demonstrated following a new design strategy for blue fluorophors with small singlet-triplet splitting. Two novel compounds DPMC and DAPSF exhibit efficient blue fluorescence, high triplet energies and good conductivities. These merits allow us to use new simplified device designs to achieve high efficiency, slow efficiency roll-off and stable emission color.

Prediction and Design of Efficient Exciplex Emitters for High‐Efficiency, Thermally Activated Delayed‐Fluorescence Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes

High-efficiency, thermally activated delayed-fluorescence organic light-emitting diodes based on exciplex emitters are demonstrated. The best device, based on a TAPC:DPTPCz emitter, shows a high external quantum efficiency of 15.4%. Strategies for predicting and designing efficient exciplex emitters are also provided. This approach allow prediction and design of efficient exciplex emitters for achieving high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes, for future use in displays and lighting applications.

Nearly 100% Triplet Harvesting in Conventional Fluorescent Dopant‐Based Organic Light‐Emitting Devices Through Energy Transfer from Exciplex

Nearly 100% triplet harvesting in conventional fluorophor-based organic light-emitting devices is realized through energy transfer from exciplex. The best C545T-doped device using the exciplex host exhibits a maximum current efficiency of 44.0 cd A(-1) , a maximum power efficiency of 46.1 lm W(-1) , and a maximum external quantum efficiency of 14.5%.

Remanagement of Singlet and Triplet Excitons in Single‐Emissive‐Layer Hybrid White Organic Light‐Emitting Devices Using Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent Blue Exciplex

A high-performance hybrid white organic light-emitting device (WOLED) is demonstrated based on an efficient novel thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) blue exciplex system. This device shows a low turn-on voltage of 2.5 V and maximum forward-viewing external quantum efficiency of 25.5%, which opens a new avenue for achieving high-performance hybrid WOLEDs with simple structures.

Chlorine Incorporation for Enhanced Performance of Planar Perovskite Solar Cell Based on Lead Acetate Precursor

We show the effects of chlorine incorporation in the crystallization process of perovskite film based on a lead acetate precursor. We demonstrate a fabrication process for fast grain growth with highly preferred {110} orientation upon only 5 min of annealing at 100 °C. By studying the correlation between precursor composition and morphology, the growth dynamic of perovskite film in the current system is discussed. In particular, we found that both lead acetate precursor and Cl incorporation are beneficial to perovskite growth. While lead acetate allows fast crystallization process, Cl improves perovskite crystallinity. Planar perovskite solar cells with optimized parameters deliver a best power conversion efficiency of 15.0% and average efficiency of 14.0% with remarkable reproducibility and good stability.

Multifunctional terpyridine/diphenylamine derivatives as highly efficient blue fluorescent emitters and red phosphorescent hosts

Three terpyridine (TPY)/diphenylamine (DPA) derivatives, with DPA functioning as the electron donor and TPY as the electron acceptor, were designed and synthesized. By switching the position of the nitrogen atom in the substituted pyridine of TPY acceptors, we can adjust the electron-drawing strength of the TPY group, and hence, further modify the fluorescence, lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels, carrier transporting properties of three compounds, but barely influence triplet energy levels. Three compounds satisfy the requirements of multifunctional blue fluorophores and are successfully used as highly efficient blue fluorescent emitters and red phosphorescent hosts in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Non-doped blue fluorescent OLEDs that use TPY22DPA, TPY33DPA, and TPY44DPA as emitters exhibit maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 4.9%, 3.8%, and 2.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, red phosphorescent OLEDs that use TPY22DPA, TPY33DPA, and TPY44DPA as host materials exhibit maximum EQEs of 19.1%, 20.9%, and 17.2%, respectively. These results are among the best reported multifunctional blue fluorophore efficiencies.

Functional Pyrimidine‐Based Thermally Activated Delay Fluorescence Emitters: Photophysics, Mechanochromism, and Fabrication of Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes

A new series of molecules, T1-T4, possessing thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) have been strategically designed and synthesized. Molecules T1-T4 contain the dimethyl acridine as the electron donor, which is linked to either symmetrical or unsymmetrical diphenyl pyrimidine as an acceptor. In comparison to the ubiquitous triazine acceptor, the selection of pyrimidine as an acceptor has advantages of facile functionalization and less stabilized unoccupied π orbitals, so that the energy gap toward the blue region can be accessed. Together with acridine donors, the resulting donor-acceptor functional materials reveal remarkable TADF properties. In the solid state, molecules T1-T4 all exhibit intriguing mechanochromism. The crystal structures, together with spectroscopy and dynamics acquired upon application of stressing, lead us to propose two types of structural arrangement that give distinct emission properties, one with and the other without TADF. Upon fabricating organic light-emitting diodes, the T1-T4 films prepared from sublimation all exhibit dominant TADF behavior; this accounts for their high performance: an electroluminescent emission at λ=490 nm, with an external quantum efficiency of 14.2 %, can be attained when T2 is used as an emitter.

A high-efficiency hybrid white organic light-emitting diode enabled by a new blue fluorophor

A new efficient blue fluorophor 4-(4-diphenylaminophenyl)diphenylsulfone (SOTPA), with high triplet energy and balanced charge-transporting properties, has been designed and synthesized, and showed impressive performance both as blue emitter and as a host for phosphors. A green phosphorescent device containing SOTPA as host showed a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) as high as 19.2%, suggesting almost complete triplet harvesting from the blue fluorophor by the green phosphor. Single-emitting layer (EML) F–P hybrid white organic light-emitting devices (WOLEDs) based on SOTPA also gave outstanding electroluminescence performance, with a low turn-on voltage of 2.7 V and maximum EQE and power efficiency (PE) of 15.4% and 40.2 lm W−1, respectively. Even at a practical brightness of 1000 cd m−2 the PE still remained as high as 24.1 lm W−1. This excellent performance represents the highest efficiency yet reported among single-EML F–P hybrid WOLEDs.

A novel nicotinonitrile derivative as an excellent multifunctional blue fluorophore for highly efficient hybrid white organic light-emitting devices

A novel nicotinonitrile derivative CZN has been designed with the aim of developing excellent multifunctional blue fluorophores for hybrid white organic light-emitting devices (WOLEDs) by introducing the nicotinonitrile group as the electron acceptor. CZN shows highly efficient blue fluorescence and its non-doped blue OLED delivers an external quantum efficiency (EQE) as high as 4.6%. Meanwhile, CZN is a promising host for phosphorescent OLEDs, realizing high EQEs of 22.8%, 24.8% and 19.9% for yellow, orange and deep-red phosphorescence, respectively. By using CZN as the blue emitter and the host simultaneously, a hybrid white OLED has been achieved with a forward-viewing EQE of 17.2%. These results indicate that the nicotinonitrile unit is an excellent building block for developing new multifunctional compounds as both blue fluorescent emitters and phosphorescent hosts for efficient hybrid WOLEDs.

Organic nanostructures of thermally activated delayed fluorescent emitters with enhanced intersystem crossing as novel metal-free photosensitizers

We applied organic nanostructures based on thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) emitters for singlet oxygen generation. Due to the extremely small energy gaps between the excited singlet states (S1) and triplet states (T1) of these heavy-metal-free organic nanostructures, intersystem conversion between S1 and T1 can occur easily. This strategy also works well for exciplex-type TADF emitters prepared by mixing suitable donors and acceptors which have no TADF characteristics themselves.