Issue 10, 2019

Through-space charge transfer hexaarylbenzene dendrimers with thermally activated delayed fluorescence and aggregation-induced emission for efficient solution-processed OLEDs

Abstract

Through-space electron interaction plays a critical role in determining the optical and charge transport properties of functional materials featuring π-stacked architectures. However, developing efficient organic luminescent materials with such interactions has been a challenge because of the lack of well-established prototypical molecules. Here we report the design of through-space charge transfer hexaarylbenzenes (TSCT-HABs) containing circularly-arrayed electron donors (acridan/dendritic triacridan) and acceptors (triazine), which exhibit both thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effects for high-efficiency solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Spatial separation of donors and acceptors in the TSCT-HABs induces a small singlet–triplet energy splitting of 0.04–0.08 eV, leading to delayed fluorescence with microsecond-scale lifetimes. Meanwhile, the TSCT-HABs display the AIE effect with emission intensity enhanced by 6–17 fold from solution to the aggregation state owing to their propeller-shaped configuration. Solution-processed OLEDs based on the TSCT-HABs show maximum external quantum efficiency up to 14.2%, making them among the most efficient emitters for solution-processed TADF OLEDs.

Graphical abstract: Through-space charge transfer hexaarylbenzene dendrimers with thermally activated delayed fluorescence and aggregation-induced emission for efficient solution-processed OLEDs

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
08 Nov 2018
Accepted
11 Jan 2019
First published
14 Jan 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 2915-2923

Through-space charge transfer hexaarylbenzene dendrimers with thermally activated delayed fluorescence and aggregation-induced emission for efficient solution-processed OLEDs

X. Wang, S. Wang, J. Lv, S. Shao, L. Wang, X. Jing and F. Wang, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 2915 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04991B

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