PFI-TT: Optimizing Next-Generation Materials for Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Applications

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this PFI project are in the area of energy efficient displays and lighting provided by Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) devices. OLEDs are the most energy efficient means of producing light, provide higher color quality and contrast (a true black) in displays, and the devices are bendable allowing unique shapes. Despite many years of research this technology is still limited by short lifetimes of the materials that emit blue light, which has prevented large scale commercial applications. Stable blue light emitting compounds will dramatically increase the lifetime of cell phone and television displays and general lighting employing OLED technologies, which will revolutionize these industries. The greatest want of consumers for their mobile phones is longer battery life, and OLEDs provide minimum energy consumption of display technologies. Stable blues are also the limitation of applications for white in general lighting applications. Considering that 20% of the electricity generated in the US is consumed in lighting, employing technology that is 90-98% more efficient than incandescent lighting will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save billions of dollars. This project will evaluate recently discovered complexes with superior stability and color characteristics for application in OLED devices. The proposed project will evaluate the in-device characteristics of recently discovered CCC-NHC pincer complexes as the blue emitter component. A modular, efficient synthesis provides access to complexes that can be altered systematically to evaluate device functionality and characteristics in a logical manner. These complexes have been demonstrated to have superior air- and water-stability to currently employed materials. The protection of the emitters by employ of sophisticated barrier technology represents a significant cost and engineering challenge for device manufacture. Devices will be prepared, initially, with spin coating fabrication, the fastest readily-available processes, and evaluated for key characteristics relevant to commercialization and industrial manufacturing. The most promising candidates will be evaluated in devices prepared by thermal evaporative deposition (TED), which provides device characteristics more relevant to commercial manufacturing processes. An additional advantage is that through easy alteration in device fabrication conditions or the structure of the emitter, these materials produce white light relevant for general lighting applications. Successful completion of the project will lead to licensing of the technologies or to the formation of a company to produce the emitting materials for the OLED display and lighting industries.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.