Themed collection Perspective on the technologies of OLEDs

Efficient host-free delayed fluorescence organic light-emitting diodes
Efficient non-doped bluish-green to green thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) OLEDs are fabricated with two TADF emitters, namely HDT1 and 36Me-HDT1, achieving maximum external quantum efficiencies of 16.5% and 21.0%, respectively.
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC02141C
Highly Efficient Multiple Resonance TADF Emitters by Hybridizing Long-Range and Short-Range Charger Transfer to Enable Narrowband and Low Roll-Off OLEDs
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, Accepted Manuscript
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC02393A
Unlocking the Bifunctional Potential of NPB:OXD-7 Exciplex in Organic Light Emitting Diodes and UV- Photodetectors
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, Accepted Manuscript
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC01944C
A B–N bond-doped multiple resonance emitter with extended π-conjugation for narrowband sky-blue OLEDs exhibiting low efficiency roll-off
A novel narrowband multi-resonance emitter obtained by incorporating B–N covalent bonds and extending π-conjugation via a simplified lithium-free one-pot borylation reaction achieved a redshifted sky-blue emission at 484 nm with a FWHM of 19 nm.
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC01905B
Comparative study on electroluminescence efficiencies and operational stability of blue TADF materials based on xanthone or triphenyltriazine acceptors
Using the blue TADF molecule (PytBuCz-XT) containing a xanthone acceptor as an emitter or a sensitizer in OLEDs provides longer operational lifetimes than the control molecule (PytBuCz-XT) containing a triphenyltriazine acceptor.
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025,13, 15144-15150
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC01399B

Double-hybrid density functionals applied to a large set of INVEST systems: validating the (SOS1-)PBE-DH-INVEST expressions
We thoroughly assess here the recently developed (SOS1-)PBE-DH-INVEST double-hybrid density functionals using the NAH159 dataset, in the search of a robuts and accurate method for S1–T1 gaps.
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025,13, 14211-14223
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC01799H
Enhancing triplet harvesting in inverted singlet–triplet gap molecules through mechanistic understanding
Molecules with an inverted singlet–triplet gap violate Hund's rule and offer promising applications in photoactive materials.
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, Advance Article
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC01155H
Performance optimization of solution-processed TADF-OLEDs using core-identical small, medium, and high molecular weight hosts
The physical interactions between the host and emitter in solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) significantly influence device performance.
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025,13, 13869-13881
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC01813G
Blue-emitting iridium(III) phosphors with functional imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-ylidene cyclometalates: designs aimed at greater steric hindrance
Ir(III) carbene complexes bearing bulky 2-xylenyl substituents were synthesized and utilized in OLED fabrication. The f-ct9ax-based hyper-OLED exhibited narrowband blue emission with a maximum EQE of 31.9%, and an EQE of 20.9% at 1000 cd m−2.
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025,13, 12663-12674
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC01314C
Optimizing through-space charge transfer in thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters for enhanced OLED efficiency
2PhTPA demonstrates improved performance by weakening the TSCT. This design reduces non-radiative decay and improves radiative efficiency, emphasizing the importance of optimizing TSCT properties in TADF emitter design for higher OLED performance.
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025,13, 9232-9238
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC00953G
About this collection
The last two decades have been revolutionary to the OLED industry as its quantum efficiency has increased more than twentyfold thanks to their exclusive properties such as low power consumption, flexibility, color purity, high efficiency, etc. OLEDs are being explored in many sectors, including consumer electronics, automotive, and biomedical applications. Despite several advantages, a few challenges, including short lifetime and production costs, remain a bottleneck for replacing the present display technology in different sectors. The OLED technology bridges various disciplines from material science and device physics to consumer electronics and healthcare applications.
Through this themed collection, Journal of Material Chemistry C provides a unique opportunity to share your research with an interdisciplinary audience and fill the existing knowledge gap to overcome the remaining challenges.
This collection is guest edited by Professors Chihaya Adachi (Kyushu University, Japan), Subrata Ghosh (IIT Mandi, India), P. Rajamalli (Indian Institute of Science, India) and Eli Zysman-Colman (University of St Andrews, UK).