A Solution-Processed Heteropoly Acid Containing MoO₃ Units as a Hole-Injection Material for Highly Stable Organic Light-Emitting Devices

We report hole-injection layers (HILs) comprising a heteropoly acid containing MoO₃ units, phosphomolybdic acid (PMA), in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). PMA possesses outstanding properties, such as high solubility in organic solvents, very low surface roughness in the film state, high transparency in the visible region, and an appropriate work function (WF), that make it suitable for HILs. We also found that these properties were dependent on the postbaking atmosphere and temperature after film formation. When the PMA film was baked in N₂, the Mo in the PMA was reduced to Mo­(V), whereas baking in air had no influence on the Mo valence state. Consequently, different baking atmospheres yielded different WF values. OLEDs with PMA HILs were fabricated and evaluated. OLEDs with PMA baked under appropriate conditions exhibited comparably low driving voltages and higher driving stability compared with OLEDs employing conventional hole-injection materials (HIMs), poly­(3,4-ethylene­dioxy­thiophene):poly­(4-styrene­sulfonate), and evaporated MoO₃, which clearly shows the high suitability of PMA HILs for OLEDs. PMA is also a commercially available and very cheap material, leading to the widespread use of PMA as a standard HIM

Two-Dimensional Ca₂Nb₃O₁₀ Perovskite Nanosheets for Electron Injection Layers in Organic Light-Emitting Devices

We report in this article the application of calcium niobate (CNO) perovskite nanosheets for electron injection layers (EILs) in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Four kinds of tetraalkylammonium hydroxides having different alkyl lengths were utilized as the exfoliation agents of a layered compound precursor HCa₂Nb₃O₁₀ to synthesize CNO nanosheets, including tetramethylammonium hydroxide, tetraethylammonium hydroxide, tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH), and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide. CNO nanosheet EILs were applied in fluorescent poly­[(9,9-di-<i>n</i>-octylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-<i>alt</i>-(benzo­[2,1,3]­thiadiazol-4,8-diyl)] (F8BT) organic light-emitting polymer-based devices. The effects of dispersion concentrations and alkyl chain length on the devices’ performances were investigated. The results demonstrated that OLEDs’ performances were related to the coverage ratio of the CNO nanosheets, their thicknesses, and their work function values. Among the four exfoliation agents, the device with CNO nanosheets exfoliated by TPAOH showed the lowest driving voltage. The OLEDs with the CNO nanosheet EILs showed lower driving voltages compared with the devices with conventional EIL material lithium 8-quinolate

Solution-Processed Inorganic–Organic Hybrid Electron Injection Layer for Polymer Light-Emitting Devices

A lithium quinolate complex (Liq) has high solubility in polar solvents such as alcohols and can be spin-coated onto emitting polymers, resulting in a smooth surface morphology. A polymer light-emitting device fabricated with spin-coated Liq as an electron injection layer (EIL) exhibited a lower turn-on voltage and a higher efficiency than a device with spin-coated Cs₂CO₃ and a device with thermally evaporated Ca. The mixture of ZnO nanoparticles and Liq served as an efficient EIL, resulting in a lower driving voltage even in thick films (∼10 nm), and it did not require a high-temperature annealing process

Efficient Electron Injection by Size- and Shape-Controlled Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles in Organic Light-Emitting Devices

Three different sized zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized as spherical ZnO (S-ZnO), rodlike ZnO (R-ZnO), and intermediate shape and size ZnO (I-ZnO) by controlling the reaction time. The average sizes of the ZnO nanoparticles were 4.2 nm × 3.4 nm for S-ZnO, 9.8 nm × 4.5 nm for I-ZnO, and 20.6 nm × 6.2 nm for R-ZnO. Organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) with these ZnO nanoparticles as the electron injection layer (EIL) were fabricated. The device with I-ZnO showed lower driving voltage and higher power efficiency than those with S-ZnO and R-ZnO. The superiority of I-ZnO makes it very effective as an EIL for various types of OLEDs regardless of the deposition order or method of fabricating the organic layer, the ZnO layer, and the electrode

High-Efficiency Perovskite Quantum-Dot Light-Emitting Devices by Effective Washing Process and Interfacial Energy Level Alignment

All inorganic perovskites quantum dots (PeQDs) have attracted much attention for used in thin film display applications and solid-state lighting applications, owing to their narrow band emission with high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs), color tunability, and solution processability. Here, we fabricated low-driving-voltage and high-efficiency CsPbBr₃ PeQDs light-emitting devices (PeQD-LEDs) using a PeQDs washing process with an ester solvent containing butyl acetate (AcOBu) to remove excess ligands from the PeQDs. The CsPbBr₃ PeQDs film washed with AcOBu exhibited a PLQY of 42%, and a narrow PL emission with a full width at half-maximum of 19 nm. We also demonstrated energy level alignment of the PeQD-LED in order to achieve effective hole injection into PeQDs from the adjacent hole injection layer. The PeQD-LED with AcOBu-washed PeQDs exhibited a maximum power efficiency of 31.7 lm W^–1 and EQE of 8.73%. Control of the interfacial PeQDs through ligand removal and energy level alignment in the device structure are promising methods for obtaining high PLQYs in film state and high device efficiency

Addition of Lithium 8‑Quinolate into Polyethylenimine Electron-Injection Layer in OLEDs: Not Only Reducing Driving Voltage but Also Improving Device Lifetime

Solution-processed electron injection layers (EILs) comprising lithium 8-quinolate (Liq) and polyethyl­enimine ethoxylated (PEIE) are highly effective for enhancing electron injection from ZnO to organic layers and improving device lifetime in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Doping of Liq into PEIE further reduces the work function of zinc oxide (ZnO) by enhancing dipole formation. The intermolecular interaction between Liq and PEIE was elucidated by UV–vis absorption measurement and quantum chemical calculation. The OLEDs with ZnO covered with PEIE:Liq mixture exhibited lower driving voltage than that of the device without Liq. Furthermore, as doping concentration of Liq into PEIE increased, the device lifetime and voltage stability during constant current operation was successively improved

Conjugated Polyelectrolyte Blend with Polyethyleneimine Ethoxylated for Thickness-Insensitive Electron Injection Layers in Organic Light-Emitting Devices

Electron injection layers (EILs) based on a simple polymer blend of polyethyleneimine ethoxylated (PEIE) and poly­[(9,9-bis­(3′-((<i>N</i>,<i>N</i>-dimethyl)-<i>N</i>-ethylammonium)-propyl)-2,7-fluorene)-<i>alt</i>-2,7-(9,9-dioctylfluorene)] (PFN-Br) can suppress the dependence of organic light-emitting device (OLED) performance on thickness variation compared with single PEIE or PFN-Br EILs. PEIE and PFN-Br were compatible with each other and PFN-Br uniformly mixed in the PEIE matrix. PFN-Br in PEIE formed more fluorene–fluorene pairs than PFN-Br alone. In addition, PEIE:PFN-Br blends reduced the work function (WF) substantially compared with single PEIE or PFN-Br polymer. PEIE:PFN-Br blends were applied to EILs in fluorescent polymer-based OLEDs. Optimized PEIE:PFN-Br blend EIL-based devices presented lower driving voltages and smaller dependences of device performance on EIL thickness than single PEIE or PFN-Br-based devices. These improvements were attributed to electron-transporting fluorene moieties, increased fluorene–fluorene pairs working as channels of electron transport, and the large WF reduction effect of PEIE:PFN-Br blends