Blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters incorporating acridan analogues with heavy group 14 elements for high-efficiency doped and non-doped OLEDs

Deep-blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters are promising alternatives for conventional fluorescence and phosphorescence materials for practical application in organic lightemitting diodes (OLEDs). However, as appropriate bipolar hosts for deep-blue TADF-OLEDs are scarce, the development of efficient deep-blue TADF emitters that are applicable to both doped and non-doped systems is an urgent task. In this study, we developed a new family of blue TADF emitters that demonstrated high photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) quantum efficiencies in both doped and non-doped (neat) systems. Four new donor-acceptor (D-A)-type TADF molecules incorporating phenazasiline, phenazagermine, and tetramethylcarbazole as weak D units and phenothiaborin as a weak A unit were designed and synthesized. By varying the structural rigidity/ flexibility as well as the electron-donating ability of the D units, the resulting photophysical and TADF properties of the D-A molecules could be systematically regulated. A comprehensive photophysical investigation revealed that phenazasiline and phenazagermine-based emitters concurrently exhibit blue TADF emissions (464-483 nm), high PL quantum efficiencies (100%), extremely fast spin-converting reverse intersystem crossing rates (>107 s1), and suppressed concentration quenching. These fascinating features in conjunction produced high-performance doped and non-doped blue TADF-OLEDs. The doped and non-doped TADF-OLEDs using the phenazasiline-based emitter demonstrated extremely high maximum external EL quantum efficiencies (hext) of 27.6% and 20.9%, with CIE chromaticity coordinates of (0.14, 0.26) and (0.14, 0.20), respectively. Further, ultra-low efficiency roll-off behavior for both the doped and non-doped devices was demonstrated by their hext as high as 26.1% and 18.2%, respectively, measured at a practically high luminance of 1000 cd m(-2).