Highly Efficient Simple-Structure Sky-Blue Organic Light-Emitting Diode Using a Bicarbazole/Cyanopyridine Bipolar Host

Up to now, the most efficient blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diode (PhOLED) was achieved with a maximum external quantum efficiency (eta(ext)) of 34.1% by using an exciplex cohost. It still remains a challenge to obtain such high efficiencies using a single-host matrix. In this work, a highly efficient sky-blue PhOLED is successfully fabricated using a newly developed bipolar host material, namely 5-(2-(9H-[3,9'-bicarbazol]-9-yl)phenyl) nicotinonitrile (o-PyCNBCz), which realizes a eta(ext) of 29.4% at a practical luminance of 100 cd m(-2) and a maximum eta(ext) of 34.6% (at 23 cd m(-2)). The present device is characterized by simple configuration with a single host and single emitting layer. o-PyCNBCz also reveals high efficiency of 28.2% (94.8 cd A(-1)) when used as the host for green PhOLED. Under identical conditions, o-PyCNBCz always outperforms than its isomer 3-PyCNBCz (5-(9-phenyl-9H-[3,9'-bicarbazol]-6-yl)nicotinonitrile) in terms of more balanced charge transportation, higher photoluminescent quantum yields of over 90%, and higher horizontal orientation ratio of the emitting dipole for the host-dopant films, which finally lead to its superior performance in PhOLEDs. It is observed that all these merits of o-PyCNBCz benefit from its ortho-linking style of carbazole (p-type unit) and cyanopyridine (n-type unit) on the phenylene bridge and the resultant molecular conformation.

Automated summary

A highly efficient sky-blue PhOLED was successfully fabricated using a newly developed bipolar host material o-PyCNBCz, achieving a maximum external quantum efficiency of 29.4% at a practical luminance. Compared to its isomer, o-PyCNBCz outperforms in terms of charge transportation balance, photoluminescent quantum yields, and emitting dipole orientation, leading to its superior performance in PhOLEDs.