Rational design, synthesis, and characterization of a photocrosslinkable hole-transporting polymer for high performance solution-processed thermally activated delayed fluorescence OLEDs

Ji Hye Lee, Cheol Hun Jeong, Mallesham Godumala, Chae Yeong Kim, Hyung Jong Kim, Jin Hyo Hwang, Yong Woo Kim, Dae Hyuk Choi, Min Ju Cho, Dong Hoon Choi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A new photocrosslinkable hole-transporting homopolymer (PX2Cz) was successfully synthesized using 9-((3-methyloxetan-3-yl)methyl)-9′-(4-vinylbenzyl)-9H,9′H-3,3′-bicarbazole monomer via radical polymerization. Biscarbazole, as a hole-transporting material, has two reactive sites that can introduce a radical polymerizable styrene moiety and a photocrosslinkable oxetane moiety. The photocuring temperature and time for the PX2Cz film was optimized to be 120 °C and 10 s. The photocured films showed good solvent resistance, which is favorable for the deposition of an emitting-layer solution on them. In particular, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy of the as-cast PX2Cz film was determined to be-5.37 eV which remained unchanged even after photocuring, thus facilitating hole transportation from the hole-injection layer. Subsequently, solution-processed, green, thermally activated delayed fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes (TADF-OLEDs) were manufactured using PX2Cz as the hole-transport material. The devices displayed a notable performance with an exceptionally low turn-on voltage (Von) of only 2.8 V and a high external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 22.5%; these values are substantially better than those of commonly used poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK)-based OLEDs (Von = 3.6 V, EQE of 15.5%). The remarkably low turn-on voltage and high EQE were ascribed to the shallower HOMO energy level and more pronounced hole-transport ability of the photocured PX2Cz film.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4572-4579
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry C
Volume8
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020 Apr 7

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Chemistry(all)
  • Materials Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Rational design, synthesis, and characterization of a photocrosslinkable hole-transporting polymer for high performance solution-processed thermally activated delayed fluorescence OLEDs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this