Sulfone-Based Deep Blue Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Emitters: Solution-Processed Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with High Efficiency and Brightness

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b02964

Low efficiencies of soluble blue emitter materials remain a major issue in the development of printed organic light-emitting devices. n-Alkylated carbazoles or sterically demanding ortho-substituted diphenylamines were employed as donor elements to increa

Full text of DOI:10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b02964

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Article
Sulfone-Based Deep Blue TADF Emitters: Solution-
Processed OLEDs with High Efficiency and Brightness
Nils Jürgensen, Andreas Kretzschmar, Stefan Höfle, Jan
Freudenberg, Uwe H. F. Bunz, and Gerardo Hernandez-Sosa
Chem. Mater., Just Accepted Manuscript • Publication Date (Web): 23 Oct 2017
Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on October 24, 2017
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Sulfone-Based Deep Blue TADF Emitters: Solution-Processed
OLEDs with High Efficiency and Brightness
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Nils Jürgensena,b,†, Andreas Kretzschmarc,†, Stefan Höflea, Jan Freudenbergb,c,*, Uwe H. F.
Bunzc,d,*,Gerardo Hernandez-Sosaa,b,
*
a Light Technology Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Engesserstr. 13, 76131,
Karlsruhe, Germany
b InnovationLab, Speyererstr. 4, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany
c Organisch-Chemisches Institut, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer
Feld 270 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
d Centre for Advanced Materials, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer
Feld 225 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
† these authors contributed equally to this work
*corresponding author(s): gerardo.sosa@kit.edu; freudenberg@oci.uni-heidelberg.de
Abstract
Low efficiencies of soluble blue emitter materials remain a major issue in the development of printed
organic light-emitting devices. n-Alkylated carbazoles or sterically demanding ortho-substituted
diphenylamines were employed as donor elements to increase solubility and to preserve blue
emission of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) donor-acceptor-donor emitters
employing a literature known para-bis(phenylsulfonyl)benzene acceptor. The soluble molecules
exhibited increased steric hindrance of the amine donors and small ΔEST as low as 0.32 eV. Thermally
activated delayed fluorescence occurs and photoluminescence quantum yields of up to 82% were
achieved. Application of these TADF-molecules in solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes
resulted in high brightnesses of up to 10000 cd/m2, current efficiencies up to 9.5 cd/A, and external
quantum efficiencies up to 8.5%, while retaining deep blue emission ranging from 466 to 436 nm
with color coordinates low as CIEy = 0.08.
Introduction
In recent years, the development of advanced organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) received a lot of
attention due to their ability to generate thin, flexible and efficient devices.1–3 In particular, OLEDs
with high contrast and color purity gain increasing importance for display applications.4 One driving
factor is the reduction of production costs; printing techniques5–7 pave the way for inexpensive scale-
up of advanced multilayer solution processed OLEDs.8–12 Another issue is the improvement of
quantum efficiency of blue OLEDs, which are still less efficient (and/or stable) than their red and
green counterparts.13
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Due to spin statistics, fluorescent emitters can theoretically only reach 25% internal quantum
efficiency (IQE). However, IQEs of 100% can be achieved upon usage of phosphorescent emitters, so
called 2nd generation phosphors for OLEDs. In heavy metal complexes a strong spin-orbit coupling
allows for radiative recombination of triplet excitons. On the other hand, the use of expensive
transition metals increases costs and chemical design is confined to fewer structural motifs. Thus, the
variety of pure blue phosphorescent transition-metal based emitters for solution processing is
14–17
limited.
In 2012, Adachi et al. introduced emitter molecules, which show thermally activated
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delayed fluorescence (TADF) as a promising mechanism to harvest triplet excitons.2 These 3rd
generation materials exhibit a very small energy gap (ΔEST) between the singlet state S1 and the first
triplet state T1. Thermal energy activates reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) of triplet excitons to the
singlet state, which now contributes to the emissive decay. The small ΔEST occurs in molecules with a
minimized HOMO-LUMO overlap, which can amongst others be realized by twisted donor-acceptor-
donor (DAD) elements.18–21 Hence, the broad freedom of molecular design resulted in numerous
thermally evaporated blue TADF-OLEDs with high efficiency.22–28 However, chemical modification to
improve solubility decrease efficiencies or lead to undesired bathochromic shifts.29–34 Furthermore,
high efficiencies of solution processed blue TADF-OLEDs were only achieved for low brightnesses.35,36
Liu et al. recently reported both ortho- and meta-bis(phenylsulfonyl)benzenes (BPSBs) as acceptor
elements for blue TADF-OLEDs.22 In contrast to the commonly used bis(phenylsulfonyl)benzene,
introduction of the BPSB acceptor core reduced the ΔEST significantly. However, as the materials
reported are only sparsely soluble, solution processing, in principle allowing for large area fabrication
and roll-to-roll processes, remains open but pressing.
In this contribution, we report on the modular synthesis, characterization and OLED performance of
solution-processable blue TADF emitters based on para-BPSB. Solubility of these emitters is
increased either by n-alkylation of carbazole or introduction of ortho-substituted and thus twisted,
sterically demanding diphenylamine donors, while quantum yields of these deep-blue emitters rank
among the best reported so far. OLEDs fabricated with these compounds lead to deep blue emission
from 466 to 436 nm, reach brightnesses up to 10000 cd/m2 and also show efficiencies at 1000 cd/m2
,
which are among the best reported up to date.
Experimental
Materials
All materials were purchased and used as received. PMMA was obtained from Sigma Aldrich. 2,6-
Bis(9H-carbazol-9-yl)pyridine (PYD2, >98%) was obtained by TCI. 2,2′,2"-(1,3,5-Benzinetriyl)-tris(1-
phenyl-1-H-benzimidazole) (TPBi, >99.5%) was ordered from Lumtec, toluene (99.9%) from Merck,
and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS, P VP AI 4083, work
function as indicated by supplier) was obtained from Heraeus. Prestructured indium tin oxide (ITO)-
coated electronic grade glass (180 nm, 10 Ω/sq work function as indicated by supplier) was acquired
from Kintec.
Synthesis
All reactions requiring exclusion of oxygen and moisture were carried out in heat-gun dried glassware
under a dry and oxygen free nitrogen or argon atmosphere using Schlenk techniques. 3,6-Di-n-
butylcarbazole,37 2,4,6-trimethyl-N-phenylaniline,38 2-tert-butyl-N-phenylaniline39 and 2-(tert-butyl)-
N-(4-tert-butyl)phenyl)aniline40 were synthesized according to a literature procedure.41
1,4-Bis((4-fluorophenyl)sulfonyl)benzene (1):42 1,4-Diiodobenzene (1.00 g, 3.03 mmol, 1.00 eq.) and
4-fluorothiophenol (855 mg, 6.67 mmol, 2.20 eq.) were dissolved in 15.0 mL n-butanol. After
copper(I) iodide (57.7 mg, 303 µmol, 0.10 eq.), 1,10-phenanthroline (65.6 mg, 364 µmol, 0.12 eq.)
and sodium tert-butoxide (1.28 g, 13.4 mmol, 4.40 eq.) had been added, the mixture was heated to
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100 °C for 18 h. Then water was added and the precipitate was washed with water till being neutral.
The crude product was suspended in a solution of 50.0 mL acetic acid and 20.0 mL aqueous hydrogen
peroxide solution (30 wt%). After stirring the mixture at 80 °C for 1 h the precipitate was filtered off,
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washed with water and dried in vacuo to yield 1 as a colorless solid (833 mg, 2.11 mmol, 70%). H
NMR (500 MHz, CDCl3) δ 8.04 (s, 4H), 7.97 - 7.94 (m, 4H), 7.21 (t, J = 8.5 Hz, 4H).
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General procedure for nucleophilic aromatic substitution: Under a nitrogen atmosphere, the amine
(2.20 eq.) was dissolved in dry DMF. Sodium hydride (2.50 eq.) was added and the suspension was
stirred at room temperature for 5 min. After addition of the sulfone (1.00 eq.), the mixture was
stirred at 100 °C for 18 h. The reaction mixture was quenched with 2.00 mL water and extracted with
water/DCM. The combined organic layers were dried over MgSO4 and the solvent was evaporated
before further purification steps were carried out.23
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Synthesis of 1,4-bis((4-(3,6-di-n-butyl)carbazolylphenyl)sulfonyl)benzene (3a): According to the
general procedure, 3,6-di-n-butylcarbazole 2a (1.18 g, 4.23 mmol, 2.20 eq.), sodium hydride (115 mg,
4.79 mmol, 2.50 eq.) and 1 (757 mg, 2.02 mmol, 1.00 eq.) were reacted in 20.0 mL DMF. The crude
product was purified by column chromatography (SiO2, gradient PE : DCM 1 : 1 to 1 : 3) to yield 3a as
a colorless solid (1.39 g, 1.52 mmol, 79%). 1H NMR (600 MHz, CDCl3) δ 8.21 (s, 4H), 8.16 (d, J = 8.6 Hz,
4H), 7.89 (d, J = 0.7 Hz, 4H), 7.79 (m, 4H), 7.36 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 4H), 7.21 (dd, J = 8.4 Hz, J = 1.5 Hz, 4H),
2.79 (t, J = 7.7 Hz, 8H), 1.69 (m, 8H), 1.41 (m, 8H), 0.96 (t, J = 7.4 Hz, 12H). 13C NMR (150 MHz, CDCl3)
δ 146.3, 144.0, 138.5, 137.3, 136.0, 130.0, 129.0, 127.1, 126.9, 124.4, 120.0, 109.4, 35.8, 34.5, 22.5,
14.2. IR (cm-1):1491, 1463, 1315, 1156, 1100, 750, 652, 631, 609, 577. HRMS (MALDI+): calc. for
+
C58H60N2O4S2 [M]+ 912.3989, found: 912.3971. MP: 259 °C. λmax,abs = 353 nm (CHCl3), 350 nm
(toluene); λmax,em = 515 nm (CHCl3), 449 nm (toluene), 421 (PMMA film); t½,delayed = 25 ± 2.5 µs (CHCl3),
50 ± 5.0 µs (toluene), 190 ± 19 µs (PMMA film); PLQY = 70 ± 2% (toluene), 74 ± 2% (PMMA film).
Synthesis of 1,4-bis((4-((2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)phenylamino)phenyl)sulfonyl)benzene (3b):
According to the general procedure, 2,4,6-trimethyl-N-phenylaniline 2b (118 mg, 558 µmol, 2.20 eq.),
sodium hydride (18.3 mg, 761 µmol, 3.00 eq.) and 1 (100 mg, 254 µmol, 1.00 eq.) were reacted in
2.00 mL DMF. The crude product was purified by column chromatography (SiO2, DCM) to yield 3b as
1
a pale yellow solid (124 mg, 160 µmol, 63%). H- NMR (600 MHz, acetone-d6) δ 8.14 (s, 4H), 7.79 (d,
J = 9.0 Hz, 4H), 7.32 (t, J = 7.9 Hz, 4H), 7.11 – 7.07 (m, 6H), 7.02 (s, 4H), 6.92 (d, J = 9.0 Hz, 4H), 2.31 (s,
6H), 1.95 (s, 12H). 13C NMR (150 MHz, acetone-d6) δ 152.2, 148.0, 144.7, 139.9, 138.7, 137.8, 131.1,
130.8, 130.3, 129.2, 124.7, 123.3, 117.6 21.0, 18.9. IR (cm-1): 1737, 1577, 1489, 1364, 1339, 1312,
1217, 1152, 1105, 744, 658, 620, 555, 518, 410. HRMS (MALDI+): calc. for C48H44N2O4S2 [M]+
+
776.2737, found: 776.2730. MP: 152 °C. λmax,abs = 357 nm (CHCl3), 351 nm (toluene); λmax,em = 476 nm
(CHCl3), 452 nm (toluene), 399 nm (PMMA film); t
= 95 ± 9.5 µs (CHCl3), 70 ± 7.0 µs (toluene),
½,delayed
210 ± 21 µs (PMMA film); PLQY = 79 ± 2% (toluene), 80 ± 2% (PMMA film).
Synthesis of 1,4-bis((4-((2-tert-butylphenyl)phenylamino)phenyl)sulfonyl)benzene (3c): According
to the general procedure, 2-tert-butyl-N-phenylaniline 2c (130 mg, 558 µmol, 2.20 eq.), sodium
hydride (18.3 mg, 761 µmol, 3.00 eq.) and 1 (100 mg, 254 µmol, 1.00 eq.) were reacted in 2.00 mL
DMF. The crude product was purified by column chromatography (SiO2, DCM) to yield 3c as a
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colorless solid (161 mg, 208 µmol, 82 %). H NMR (600 MHz, acetone-d6) δ 8.14 (s, 4H), 7.79 (d,
J = 9.0 Hz, 4H), 7.69 (d, J = 8.1 Hz, J = 1.6 Hz, 2H), 7.39 (m, 2H), 7.33 (m, 6H), 7.10 (m, 6H), 7.04 (m,
2H), 6.98 (m, 4H), 1.20 (s, 18H). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3) δ 153.7, 148.6, 146.8, 145.8, 143.1, 133.6,
130.2, 129.7, 129.4, 129.3, 128.3, 128.2, 124.0, 123.6, 119.3, 35.9, 31.5. IR (cm-1): 1737, 1582, 1487,
1364, 1313, 1152, 1105, 828, 747, 704, 661, 617, 585, 526, 420. HRMS (MALDI+): calc. for
+
C50H48N2O4S2 [M]+ 804.3050, found: 804.3037. EA (%): calc.: C 74.60, H 6.01, N 3.48, O 7.95, S 7.96;
found: C 74.04, H 6.28, N 3.69. MP: 293 °C. λmax,abs = 354 nm (CHCl3), 348 nm (toluene); λmax,em = 473
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nm (CHCl3), 443 nm (toluene), 425 (PMMA film); t
= 50 ± 5.0 µs (CHCl3), 15 ± 1.5 µs (toluene),
½,delayed
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180 ± 18 µs (PMMA film); PLQY = 82 ±2 % (toluene), 81 ± 2% (PMMA film).
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Synthesis of 1,4-bis((4-((2-tert-butylphenyl)(4-tert-butylphenyl)amino)phenyl)sulfonyl)benzene
(3d): According to the general procedure, 2-(tert-butyl)-N-(4-tert-butyl)phenyl)aniline (2d) (157 mg,
558 µmol, 2.20 eq.), sodium hydride (18.3 mg, 761 µmol, 3.00 eq.) and 1 (100 mg, 254 µmol,
1.00 eq.) were reacted in 4.00 mL DMF. The crude product was purified by column chromatography
(SiO2, DCM) to yield 3d as a colorless solid (195 mg, 213 µmol, 84%). 1H NMR (600 MHz, acetone-d6) δ
8.14 (s, 4H), 7.78 (d, J = 9.0 Hz, 4H), 7.68 (d, J = 8.1 Hz, J = 1.4 Hz, 2H), 7.40 - 7.37 (m, 6H), 7.34 - 7.31
(m, 2H), 7.05 - 7.03 (m, 6H), 6.93 (d, J = 9.0 Hz, 4H), 1.29 (s, 18H), 1.20 (s, 18H). 13C NMR (150 MHz,
acetone-d6) δ 154.4, 149.0, 148.0, 147.7, 144.0, 143.9, 134.3, 130.9, 130.8, 130.2, 129.2, 129.1,
128.9, 126.9, 124.1, 119.6, 36.4, 34.9, 31.7, 31.6. IR (cm-1): 1738, 1584, 1489, 1364, 1311, 1149, 1103,
828, 757, 700, 617, 554, 517, 408. HRMS (MALDI+): calc. for [C58H64N2O4S2]+ [M]+ 916.4302,
found: 916.4323. EA (%): calc.: C 75.95, H 7.03, N 3.05, O 6.98, S 6.99; found: C 75.39, H 6.52, N 3.01.
MP: 164 °C. λmax,abs = 351 nm (CHCl3), 352 nm (toluene); λmax,em = 482 nm (CHCl3), 454 nm (toluene),
432 (PMMA film); t½,delayed = 70 ± 7.0 µs (CHCl3), 20 ± 2.0 µs (toluene), 185 ± 19 µs (PMMA film); PLQY
= 80 ±2 % (toluene), 82 ± 2% (PMMA film).
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Synthesis of 1,4-bis((4-(diphenylamin)phenyl)sulfonyl)benzene (3e): According to the general
procedure, diphenylamine 2e (172 mg, 1.01 mmol, 4.00 eq.), sodium hydride (15.2 mg, 634 µmol,
2.50 eq.) and 1 (100 mg, 254 µmol, 1.00 eq.) were reacted in 4.00 mL DMF. The crude product was
purified by column chromatography (SiO2, DCM) to yield 3e as a colorless solid (74.0 mg, 106 µmol,
42%).1H-NMR (600 MHz, CDCl3) δ 8.00 (s, 4H), 7.66 (d, J = 8.9 Hz, 4H), 7.33 (t, J = 7.9 Hz, 8H), 7.18 (t,
J = 7.4 Hz, 4H), 7.14 (d, J = 7.9 Hz, 8H), 6.96 (d, J = 8.9 Hz, 4H). 13C-NMR (150 MHz, CDCl3) δ 152.9,
146.7, 145.9, 130.0, 129.9, 129.6, 128.3, 126.5, 125.6, 119.3. IR (cm-1): 1737, 1577, 1473, 1456, 1364,
1217, 1154, 1102, 745, 696, 624, 585, 519, 419. HRMS (MALDI+): calc. for [C42H32N2O4S2]+
[M]+ 692.1798, found: 692.1818. MP: 216 °C. λmax,abs = 290 + 358 nm (CHCl3), 354 nm (toluene); λmax,em
= 511 nm (CHCl3), 452 nm (toluene); t½,delayed = 15 ± 1.5 µs (CHCl3); QY = 64 ± 2% (toluene).
Energy Level Calculation and Measurement
DFT calculations were performed using Spartan ‘10 using B3LYP functional and 6-311+G** basis set.
For cyclic voltammetry (CV), a Princeton Applied Research VersaSTAT 3 Potentiostat was used. CV
was performed in DCM solutions of the respective molecule using Bu4NPF6 as an electrolyte, a glassy
carbon (PEEK) working electrode, silver wire and Pt-coated Ti counter electrode. For the estimation
of the frontier molecular orbital energies, ferrocene was measured as external standard. A HOMO
level of -4.8 eV was assumed for ferrocene.43 The work function in thin films of 3a-d were measured
by photoelectron yield spectroscopy in air (PESA) (beam power 50 - 310 nW) on an AC-2E from Riken
Keiki.
Optical Spectroscopy and Time Resolved Photoluminescence
Absorption spectra were recorded on a Jasco UV-Vis V-660 or Jasco UV-Vis V-670. Fluorescence
spectra and low temperature phosphorescence spectra were recorded on a Jasco FP-6500.
Fluorescence lifetimes and time resolved photoluminescence were determined using a Horiba Jobin
Yvon FluoroCube equipped with a Horiba NanoLED Diode as pulsed light source (excitation
wavelength: 376 nm, pulse duration: < 200 ns) for lifetimes < 1 µs respectively a Horiba SpectraLED
Diode as a light source (excitation wavelength: 300 nm) for lifetimes > 1 µs and a Horiba Single
Photon counting controller. Quantum yields were determined by an Ulbricht sphere (6 inch) using a
PTI QuantaMaster 40 equipped with a Hamamatsu R928P photomultiplier. For all measurements in
toluene the solvent was purchased from Sigma Aldrich in the quality CHROMASOLV PLUS (purity
≥ 99.9 %). For films the substance was dissolved in chlorobenzene (2.5 mg/mL) together with PMMA
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(47.5 mg/mL) by stirring overnight at room temperature. The solution was spin-coated with a
Spin 150 from S.P.S. with a rotational speed of 500 rpm for 30 s followed by 3000 rpm for 10 s.
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OLED Fabrication and Characterization
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ITO substrates were cleaned in an ultrasonic bath for 10 min in acetone and isopropanol
consecutively, followed by 5 min oxygen plasma treatment. PEDOT:PSS was filtered with 0.45 μm
PVDF filter and spin-cast at 3800 rpm for 30 s with 3 min annealing at 200°C to obtain 25 nm films.
The following steps were done in a nitrogen glovebox. PYD2 and 3a-d were separately dissolved in a
concentration of 10 g/L in toluene. Afterwards the PYD2 and 3a-d solutions were filtered with a
0.2 μm PTFE filter and mixed (ratio: 10:4). The solutions were spin cast at 2000 rpm for 30 s with
5 min annealing at 80°C (d = 35 nm). The TPBi / LiF / Al (45 nm / 1 nm / 100 nm ) counter electrode
was applied by thermal evaporation at a pressure of 10-6 mbar yielding a 24 mm2 active area. For
OLED characterization, a calibrated Botest LIV functionality test system was used inside the glovebox.
Films thicknesses were determined on a Veeco Dektak 150 profilometer.
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Results and Discussion
The synthetic approach is depicted in Scheme 1. Synthesis starts with an Ullmann-type coupling of
para-diiodobenzene to 4-fluorothiophenol and subsequent oxidation of the intermediate
bis(thioether), furnishing 1,4-bis((4-fluorophenyl)sulfonyl)benzene 1 in 44% yield. The fluorinated
acceptor core 1 is then reacted with the corresponding literature known amines 2a-e, prepared via
Buchwald-Hartwig amination in case of diarylamines,44–47 via nucleophilic aromatic substitution.
Besides the widely used carbazole moiety, electron-rich diarylamines with increased donor strengths
due to alkylation in ortho/para-position were employed. Variation of ortho-substitution (methyl vs.
tert-butyl) further modifies steric demand and hence the angle between the substituted aryl group
and the N-C-bond separating donor and acceptor moiety influencing singlet-triplet gap and lifetimes
of TADF emitters.48 The targeted TADF emitters 3a-d are isolated in yields ranging from 73% to 84%
as colorless amorphous materials after column chromatography and recrystallization, whereas the
yield of reference compound 3e (42%) is still satisfactory.
Scheme 1: Synthesis of TADF emitters 3a-e.
All compounds exhibit a broad unstructured absorption around 350 nm both in doped PMMA thin
films as well as in toluene. The respective photoluminescence (PL) spectra vary according to the
compounds and medium they were recorded in. In degassed solutions the PL peak λPL ranges from
444 to 454 nm with 3c being the most blue-shifted, whereas emission maxima are hypsochromically
shifted and features broadened in thin films (λPL 399-432 nm). The emission displays a strong
influence depending on the nature of the amine donor. Mesityl-bearing 3b displays an emission
maximum as low as 399 nm. All absorption and emission spectra are shown in SI Figure S1. To
determine the TADF character of the compounds 3a-e the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY)
was measured in different environments. In argon flushed toluene the PLQY for 3a-d were 70%, 79%,
82% and 80%; in non-degassed toluene under ambient conditions PLQY decreased to 38%, 43%, 41%
and 41%. This reduction suggests delayed fluorescence, as triplet excited states are strongly
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quenched by oxygen and thus reverse intersystem crossing and radiative decay is inhibited.13
Increased steric demand of the terminal N-aryl substituents is beneficial for a high PLQY of 3b-e. At
64%, PLQY was poor for the sterically non-demanding bis-phenyl model compound 3e. We limited
optical and electronic characterization to 3a-d. In doped PMMA films, providing encapsulation and
prevention of aggregation, PLQY amounted to 74%, 80%, 81% and 82%, respectively for 3a-d, among
the highest reported in literature for deep-blue TADF emitters. Table 1 summarizes the optical
properties of 3a-e. Furthermore, the transient PL decay of 3a-d in argon flushed toluene is shown in
Figure 1a. After a relatively short decay of the prompt fluorescence within several ns, a delayed PL
was observed. Single exponential decays fit determined delayed PL lifetimes of 50, 70, 15, and 20 µs
for 3a-d in toluene, respectively. In Figure 1b, the direct fluorescence spectra of 3a-d are compared
to the delayed spectra at 50 ns. The superimposability of both emission features confirms that the
delayed PL is indeed attributable to thermally activated delayed fluorescence which contributes from
72% to 98% of the total emission intensity in chloroform solution as shown in Table 1. The calculation
of the contribution of the TADF with respect to the total emission is outlined in the SI.
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Figure 1: Transient PL decay curves of 3a-d in degassed toluene a) and PL spectra of 3a-d in PMMA
films compared to spectra after 50 ns delay b).
Table 1: Optical properties of 3a-d in thin-film (f, 10 w% in PMMA) and in toluene (s) at room
temperature.
compound
λabs (f/s)a
(nm)
λPL(f/s)a
(nm)
t1/2,delayed (f/s)b
(µs)
PLQY (f/s)c
(%)
Idelayed/Itotal (f/s)d
(%)
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3b
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3d
3e
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351/348
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-e/354
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425/444
432/454
-e /451
190/50
210/70
180/15
185/20
-e /15
74/70
80/79
81/82
82/80
-e /64
90/94
80/80
90/95
90/98
-e/90
b
a Peak values from the absorbance (abs) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra,
PL half-life obtained from single
exponential decay fits, c Photoluminescence quantum yield PLQY, thorough degassing of solutions necessary, d ratio of the
delayed PL intensity to the overall intensity as calculated from decay curves. Chloroform used as solvent. e Not determined.
Figure 2: Calculated (DFT, B3LYP//6-311+g**) molecular frontier orbitals (bottom: HOMO, top:
LUMO) of 3a-e.
Attempted crystallization resulted in precipitation of amorphous materials; we were unable to obtain
single crystals suitable for X-ray diffraction analyses. Therefore, we rely on quantum chemical
calculations (DFT, B3LYP, 6-311+g**, gas phase) to gain structural and electronic insight. Figure 2
shows the calculated highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) and the lowest unoccupied
molecular orbitals (LUMOs) of compounds 3a-e, which exhibit spatial separation and are located on
the respective donor and acceptor elements. Geometry optimizations allowed for evaluation of the
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twist angles between N-aryl-substituents and the sulfone-appended phenylenes. With increasing
steric demand of the combined terminal N-aryl substituents (3e < 3b < 3c ≈ 3d, see SI Table S1 for list
of twist angles), coplanarity with respect to the phenylene bridge and therefore conjugation
decreased, essential for efficient intramolecular charge transfer and thus TADF properties.13
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Table 2: Energy levels of 3a-d.
calculation
compound HOMOa LUMOa
experiment
d
e
f
IPb
EAc
Eg
ET1
ΔEST
(eV)
-5.81g
-5.75
-5.80
-5.70
(eV)
-2.50g
-2.08
-2.16
-2.08
(eV)
(eV)
(eV)
3.18
3.21
3.23
3.21
(eV)
2.86
2.79
2.76
2.78
(eV)
0.32
0.42
0.47
0.43
3a
3b
3c
3d
-5.78
-5.78
-5.79
-5.71
-2.51
-2.52
-2.49
-2.38
a Obtained from quantum chemical calculations with Spartan ´10 B3LYP/6-311+g**, b ionization potential (IP) measured by
PESA in film, c electron affinity (EA) measured by cyclic voltammetry in dichloromethane, d energy gap as determined from
the edge of the long wavelength absorption in toluene, e energy difference between S0 and T1 in Me-THF at -196 C.
f Difference between ET1 and Eg. g n-Butyl groups approximated with methyl groups for calculations.
Table 2 summarizes the calculated and experimentally determined energy levels. The calculated
HOMO levels of all compounds are very similar and in good agreement with the measured ionization
potential (IP). Environmental long-range order effects could have a weak influence on the LUMO
levels in general as the acceptor elements (and thus the LUMOs) are more protected within the DAD
structure. The influence should also be stronger on the more flexible donor elements and the HOMO
levels of 3b-d compared to 3a. While the aryl groups are free to rotate, the carbazole moiety is
comparatively stiff. Hence, it is obvious that the LUMO energy of 3a due to its n-butyl-carbazole
group is dissimilar from HOMO levels of phenyl substituted 3b-d. However, the measured electron
affinities (EA) of compounds 3b-d vary by ~100 meV.
Nonetheless, the optical energy gap Eg (vide infra) is in excellent agreement with the energy
difference between IP and EA for all compounds. Variation of the aryl substituents in the donor
elements exhibits an influence on ΔEST. A reduction of the exchange interaction integral of the HOMO
and LUMO decreases ΔEST. Compared to carbazole, Adachi et al. already showed that diphenylamine
increases ΔEST and decreases the energy of the triplet state to some extent.23 Hence, the ΔEST of 3b-d
is comparably higher, although consistent as 3c and 3d have a slightly smaller ΔEST compared to 3b
due to the increased steric hindrance as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 3: LIV characteristics of 3a-d OLEDs with energy levels in the inset a). Corresponding EQE vs.
the current density b), and efficiency vs. luminance c).
A careful choice of the host material was of great importance for the fabrication of OLEDs. 2,6-Bis(N-
carbazolyl)pyridine (PYD2) was used as the host due to the relatively high energy gap and triplet
energy of the compounds 3a-b. With a HOMO and LUMO level at EHOMO = -6.0 and ELUMO = -2.3 eV,
and a triplet energy of ET1 = 2.93 eV, PYD2 is suitable for all four compounds.49,50 Furthermore, the PL
spectrum of PYD2 partly overlaps with the absorption of all compounds.51 Therefore, PYD2 allows for
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good exciton confinement and good energy transfer to embed 3a-d. Analogous to PMMA,
photophysical measurements of PYD2 are shown in Figure S1-3 in the SI. Compared to PMMA, PYD2
caused a slight red shift in the PL of all compounds but showed comparable transient PL decay
characteristics. As shown in the inset of Figure 3a, PEDOT:PSS was used as hole injection layer and
TPBi as electron transport and hole blocking layer.
LIV characteristics and the efficiencies are shown in Figure 3. Table 3 summarizes the averaged LIV
parameters. The turn-on voltages Von range from 4.4 to 5.0 V. 3b exhibits the largest Von as its energy
gap is the highest of all compounds. Although the energy gap of PYD2 and the potential barriers at
the transport layer interfaces are relatively high, the results of Von are satisfying as they are in close
proximity to recent reports of comparable devices.29–31,35 The brightness reaches maximum values
from 6500 to 10400 cd/m2 which are among the highest values reported for blue emitting TADF
devices in literature.31 As seen from Figure 3c and Figure S4 in the SI, 3a shows the highest values for
current efficiency (CE) and power efficacy (PE) as its brightness is the highest and the current density
is relatively low. Although the brightness of 3b is high, the high current density leads to the drastic
decrease in CE and PE. Implementation of a buffer hole-injection-layer composed of PEDOT:PSS and a
perfluorinated polymeric acid decreased the current density but did not lead to an improvement of
other LIV parameters as shown in Figure S5-7 in the SI.34 The higher EQE of 3b while observing the
lowest current efficiency can be explain by its blue-shifted emission compared to the other
compounds. EQE compares the current to emitted photon ratio while candela (cd) is a photometric
unit, weighted by the luminosity function (i.e. eye response). Therefore, all emitted photons below
380 nm are not accounted for the calculation of current efficiency and brightness but are fully
accounted for in the EQE. Compared to literature, the maximum values of CE, PE, and EQE are lower
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than the highest efficiencies reported to date, however, these reported values are shown for
35,36
brightnesses smaller than 1000 cd/m2.
Atomic force microscopy images (AFM) (SI Figure S8)
revealed that 3a-d doped PYD2 films have a surface roughness RMS of 0.4, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.6 nm,
respectively, comparable to the RMS of 0.4 nm of PYD2 films. However, the doped films suffer from
pinholes on the order of 100 nm in width. Hence, morphology seems to be the main reason for the
relatively high current density, which reduced the device current efficiency and power efficiency.
Nonetheless, to our best knowledge, the efficiencies of 3a-d at 1000 cd/m2 are among the best
reported for solution processed blue emitting TADF devices up to date.29–31,36 Furthermore,
compound 3a exhibits values of 3.2 cd/A, 1.1 lm/W and 1.8 % at 10000 cd/m2 in CE, PE and EQE,
respectively.
Table 3: LIV parameters from 3a-d OLED measurement.
a
b
c
c
d
d
compound
Von
Lmax
(cd/m2)
CEmax
(cd/A)
CE1000
(cd/A)
PEmax
(lm/W)
PE1000
(lm/W)
EQEe
(%)
(V)
3a
3b
3c
3d
4.5±0.0
5.0±0.0
4.6±0.1
4.4±0.1
10413±140 9.5±0.4 8.2±0.3 5.8±0.4 4.5±0.3
9751±637 5.6±0.4 5.0±0.2 3.2±0.2 2.6±0.1
6473±205 7.5±0.5 6.3±0.1 4.5±0.4 3.1±0.1
6764±233 7.4±0.4 5.9±0.2 4.5±0.2 2.9±0.1
5.6±0.2
8.5±0.4
5.3±0.4
5.0±0.2
a Turn-on voltage, voltage at 1 cd/m2, b maximum luminance, c current efficiency at maximum and at 1000 cd/m2, d power
efficacy at maximum and at 1000 cd/m2, e maximum external quantum efficiency.
Figure 4: EL spectra of 3a-d OLEDs and corresponding CIE 1931 color coordinates in the inset a).
Micrographs of operating 4 mm × 6 mm 3a-d OLED pixels b). Agglomerates in 3b are due to its
relatively decreased solubility.
Figure 4 present the electroluminescence (EL) spectra, CIE 1931 diagram and operando optical
micrographs of the fabricated OLEDs with component 3a-d. The maxima of the EL spectra of 3a,c,d is
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466 nm, 456 nm, and 458 nm, however, the EL peak of 3b is blue shifted to 435 nm. As seen from the
inset, the emission of all devices is situated in the blue region of the CIE diagram. 3b has the
strongest blue shift due to its larger energy gap as evidenced from thin-film absorption spectra (see
SI, Figure S1) and is hence situated deeper in the blue region of the CIE diagram. The optical
micrographs of the pixels in operation (Figure 4b) highlight the blue emission of the OLEDs. Our
improvement of the processability and film morphology offers further research opportunities in
which we will focus on and will further impact the performance of the prepared devices.
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Conclusion
This work demonstrates that the introduction of sterically demanding side groups to TADF donor
elements increases solubility of the molecules to allow solution processing and, at the same time,
sustain a low EST and deep blue emission. This versatile chemical modification can accelerate the cost
efficient development and future molecular designs of a multitude of soluble blue TADF emitters
systems. The high brightness up to 10000 cd/m2 and efficiencies up to 8.2 cd/A at 1000 cd/m2
reached by our solution-processed deep blue TADF OLEDs represent the promising potential of this
approach. These advancements in performance as well as blue color purity with CIE color coordinates
low as x = 0.16 and y = 0.08 help boost the fields of printed light-emitting devices and display
technologies.
Supporting Information description
General remarks, calculation of the portions of direct and delayed fluorescence, list of torsion angles
from DFT calculations, photophysical measurements, OLED efficiency, atomic force microscopy
images, 1H and 13C NMR spectra and cyclic voltammograms.
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to S. Stolz and A. Colsmann (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) for fruitful
discussions. The authors acknowledge financial support of the Federal Ministry for Education and
Research (BMBF) through Grant FKZ: 03X5526.
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Scheme 1: Synthesis of TADF emitters 3a-e.
182x75mm (300 x 300 DPI)
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