Inkjet-Printed Self-Hosted TADF Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes

Abstract

Thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) materials are extensively investigated as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with TADF emitting layers demonstrating high efficiency without the use of heavy metal complexes. Therefore, solution-processable and printable TADF emitters are highly desirable, moving away from expensive vacuum deposition techniques. In addition, using emissive materials not requiring an external host simplifies the fabrication process significantly. Herein, OLEDs using a solution-processable TADF polymer that do not need an external host are introduced. The non-conjugated TADF polymer features a TADF emitter (4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-2-(3′-hydroxy-[1,1′-biphenyl]-3-yl)-isoindoline-1,3-dione) as a side chain, as well as a hole-transporting side chain and an electron-transporting side chain on an inactive polymer backbone. All organic layers of the OLEDs are fabricated using solution processing methods. The OLEDs with inkjet-printed emissive layers have comparable maximum current and external quantum efficiency as their spin-coated counterparts, exceeding luminance of 2000 cd m−2. The herein-explored strategy is a viable route toward self-hosted printable TADF OLEDs.