Efficient Emitters for OLEDs using Structural Constraint

Lighting is one of the largest demands on the global electricity supply at nearly 20%, meaning that a small change to more efficient lighting technology can have an outsized impact on our environmental footprint. Current research into efficient lighting technology is focused on third-generation organic light emitting diodes that emit light through thermally activated delayed fluorescence. Although devices with promising efficiency have been demonstrated, there are still barriers to commercialization of this technology. One of the major barriers is that blue emitters are lagging behind other colours in performance and stability. Blue emitters require higher energy excitation compared to other colours which can cause degradation over time leading to poor device lifetimes. In this project, we present a new molecular design that will allow high performance blue emitters to be targeted by modification of a common phenothiazine donor. Adding bridging groups will improve the stability of the molecule, while donor oxidation can tune the emission colour to target stable display-quality blue materials.

Faculty Supervisor:

Zachary Hudson

Student:

Partner:

Kyoto University

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: