Harvesting triplet excitons for near-infrared electroluminescence via thermally activated delayed fluorescence channel

Introducing Internal Host Component to Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Emitter for Efficient NIR Nondoped Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Developing thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) near-infrared (NIR) organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on nondoped emitting layers is intriguing yet challenging, limited by low exciton utilization and notorious concentration quenching. Herein, a facile strategy is proposed to address this issue by incorporating an internal host component onto a traditional donor (D)-acceptor (A)-type red TADF molecule. A proof-of-concept emitter with an internal host is accordingly developed as well as a control one without an internal host. In the case of their monomer states, both emitters exhibit similar emission spectra due to their identical D-A pairs. However, under nondoped conditions, significant improvement in exciton utilization and quenching-resistant features are observed for the molecule with the internal host. The corresponding nondoped OLED yielded a maximum external quantum efficiency of 2.4%, with NIR emission peaking at 765 nm, which was a nearly 10-fold improvement relative to the efficiency based on the control molecule without an internal host. To the best of our knowledge, this result is on par with those of state-of-the art nondoped NIR TADF OLEDs in a similar emission region. These results offer a feasible pathway for the design and development of high-efficiency NIR nondoped OLEDs.

Narrowband Pure Near-Infrared (NIR) Ir(III) Complexes for Solution-Processed Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) with External Quantum Efficiency Over 16

Highly efficient near-infrared (NIR) emitters have significant applications in medical and optoelectronic fields, but the development stays a great challenge due to the energy gap law. Here, we report two NIR phosphorescent Ir(III) complexes which display emission peaks around 730 nm with a narrow full width at half maximum of only 43 nm. Therefore, pure NIR luminescence can be obtained without having a very long emission wavelength, thus alleviating the restriction of the energy gap law, and obtaining impressively high photoluminescence quantum yield up to 0.70. More importantly, the pure NIR organic light-emitting diode (OLED) fabricated by the solution-processed mothed shows outstanding device performance with the highest external quantum efficiency of 16.43 %, which sets a new record for solution-processed NIR-OLEDs based on different emitters. This work sheds light on the development of Ir(III) complexes with narrowband emissions as highly efficient pure NIR-emitters.

Status and Challenges of Blue OLEDs: A Review

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have outperformed conventional display technologies in smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, and televisions while gradually growing to cover a sizable fraction of the solid-state lighting industry. Blue emission is a crucial chromatic component for realizing high-quality red, green, blue, and yellow (RGBY) and RGB white display technologies and solid-state lighting sources. For consumer products with desirable lifetimes and efficiency, deep blue emissions with much higher power efficiency and operation time are necessary prerequisites. This article reviews over 700 papers covering various factors, namely, the crucial role of blue emission for full-color displays and solid-state lighting, the performance status of blue OLEDs, and the systematic development of fluorescent, phosphorescent, and thermally activated delayed fluorescence blue emitters. In addition, various challenges concerning deep blue efficiency, lifetime, and approaches to realizing deeper blue emission and higher efficacy for blue OLED devices are also described.

Design and Synthesis of Red Through-Space Charge Transfer Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Emitters with Donor/Acceptor/Donor Stacking

Red through-space charge transfer thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TSCT TADF) materials named SAF36DCPP and SAF27DCPP with sandwiched structures were synthesized. Single crystals indicated that the intramolecular C-H···π interactions play a vital role in rigidifying the sandwiched structure, which results in a fluorescence yield of 63% for SAF36DCPP compared to 40% for SAF27DCPP. Organic light-emitting diodes with SAF36DCPP as the emitter realized a maximum external quantum efficiency of 16.12%.

Carbonyl-Containing Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Emitters for Narrow-Band Electroluminescence

Carbonyl-containing derivatives show enduring vitality in the field of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials; they can realize high device efficiency by using both singlet and triplet excitons for electroluminescence. Recently, a system based on fused ketone/amine exhibited huge potential for constructing multi-resonance TADF (MR-TADF) emitters, which exhibit higher narrow-band emission than conventional TADF emitters with twisted donor-acceptor (D-A) structure. Herein, we summarize current research progress in both traditional and MR-type ketone derivatives with TADF characteristics for introducing the molecular design strategy of maintaining high device efficiency while keeping narrow-band emission profile. We hope this review can inspire the emergence of more high-performance narrow-band materials.

Asymmetric Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Emitter for Highly Efficient Red/Near-Infrared Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Developing highly efficient red/near-infrared thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials is of great importance for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Here, we reported an asymmetric TADF emitter (TCPQ), which exhibits a high reverse intersystem crossing rate as well as a low non-radiative rate due to molecular symmetry breaking through multiple donor substitution. The coexistence of multiple donors endows TCPQ with not only near-infrared emission but also excellent device performances. As for the TCPQ-based OLEDs, the 10 and 20 wt % doped devices exhibit outstanding external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 21.9 and 19.2% with red emission peaks at 612 and 642 nm, respectively. Meanwhile, the non-doped device achieves an EQE of 5.4% with an emission peak at 718 nm, showing near-infrared emission. These device efficiencies are among the best performances of red/near-infrared TADF-OLEDs, demonstrating that the asymmetry design is a potential strategy for constructing long wavelength TADF materials with high efficiency.

Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent Gain Materials: Harvesting Triplet Excitons for Lasing

Thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) materials have attracted increasing attention because of their ability to harvest triplet excitons via a reverse intersystem crossing process. TADF gain materials that can recycle triplet excitons for stimulated emission are considered for solving the triplet accumulation problem in electrically pumped organic solid-state lasers (OSSLs). In this mini review, recent progress in TADF gain materials is summarized, and design principles are extracted from existing reports. The construction methods of resonators based on TADF gain materials are also introduced, and the challenges and perspectives for the future development of TADF gain materials are presented. It is hoped that this review will aid the advances in TADF gain materials and thus promote the development of electrically pumped OSSLs.

Exciton Up-Conversion by Well-Distributed Carbon Quantum Dots in Luminescent Materials for an Efficient Organic Light-Emitting Diode

In this work, we proposed an efficient and straightforward up-conversion process to enhance the external quantum efficiency in a red-emission organic light-emitting diode (OLED). The carbon quantum dots in the luminescent materials initiated the up-conversion by doping the (6,6)-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) in an amount of 0.001 wt. %, and the external quantum efficiency (EQE) increased from approximately 80% to 9.27% without spectrum change. The time-resolved photoluminescence was applied to understand the mechanism of EQE enhancement in the PCBM-doped OLED. Two decay-time constants fit the TRPL. After PCBM doping, the extended PL intensity indicated increased time constants. The time constants increased from 1.06 and 4.02 ns of the reference sample to 3.48 and 11.29 ns of the PCBM-doped material, respectively. The nonradiative energy transfer (NRET) mechanism was proposed responsible for the decay-time enhancement. The excitons in the PCBM, either by excitation or injection, will transfer to the phosphorescent material nonradiatively. As the PCBM has lower energy levels than the luminous material for electrons, the backward exciton transfer is a kind of up-conversion. With the increased amounts of excitons in the luminescent material, the luminescent external quantum efficiency and the decay-time increased. This up-conversion method is not limited to the red-emission OLED; it could also be applied to blue or green emission.

Efficient Pyrazolo[5,4-f]quinoxaline Functionalized Os(II) Based Emitter with an Electroluminescence Peak Maximum at 811 nm

Upon fusing the pyrazinyl pyrazole entity in giving pyrazolo[3,4-f]quinoxaline chelate, the corresponding Os(II) based NIR emitter exhibited "invisible" and efficient electroluminescence with a peak maximum at 811 nm. A maximum external quantum efficiency of 0.97 % and a suppressed efficiency roll-off till a current density of 300 mA cm^-2 was also exhibited.

Red-Emissive Cell-Penetrating Polymer Dots Exhibiting Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence for Cellular Imaging

Fluorescence imaging in living cells is key to understanding many biological processes, yet autofluorescence from the sample can lower sensitivity and hinder high-resolution imaging. Time-gated measurements using phosphorescent metal complexes can improve imaging, at the cost of potential toxicity from the use of heavy metals. Here, we describe orange/red-emitting polymer dots (Pdots) exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) for time-gated imaging. Inspired by the cell invasion mechanism of the HIV TAT protein, the Pdots were formed from block copolymers composed of a hydrophilic guanidine-rich block as a cell-penetrating peptide mimic, and a rigid organic semiconductor block to provide efficient delayed fluorescence. These all-organic polymer nanoparticles were shown to efficiently enter HeLa, CHO, and HepG2 cells within 30 min, with cell viabilities remaining high for Pdot concentrations up to 25 mg mL^-1. Pdot quantum yields were as high as 0.17 in aerated water, with the Pdot structure effectively shielding the TADF emitters from quenching by oxygen. Colocalization experiments revealed that the Pdots primarily accumulate outside of lysosomes, minimizing lysosomal degradation. When used for fixed cellular imaging, Pdot-incubated cells showed high signal-to-background ratios compared to control samples with no Pdot exposure. Using time-resolved spectroscopy, the delayed emission of the TADF materials was effectively separated from that of both a biological serum and a secondary fluorescent dye.

Non-toxic near-infrared light-emitting diodes

Harnessing cost-efficient printable semiconductor materials as near-infrared (NIR) emitters in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is extremely attractive for sensing and diagnostics, telecommunications, and biomedical sciences. However, the most efficient NIR LEDs suitable for printable electronics rely on emissive materials containing precious transition metal ions (such as platinum), which have triggered concerns about their poor biocompatibility and sustainability. Here, we review and highlight the latest progress in NIR LEDs based on non-toxic and low-cost functional materials suitable for solution-processing deposition. Different approaches to achieve NIR emission from organic and hybrid materials are discussed, with particular focus on fluorescent and exciplex-forming host-guest systems, thermally activated delayed fluorescent molecules, aggregation-induced emission fluorophores, as well as lead-free perovskites. Alternative strategies leveraging photonic microcavity effects and surface plasmon resonances to enhance the emission of such materials in the NIR are also presented. Finally, an outlook for critical challenges and opportunities of non-toxic NIR LEDs is provided.