Issue 10, 2019

Through-space charge transfer hexaarylbenzene dendrimers with thermally activated delayed fluorescence and aggregation-induced emission for efficient solution-processed OLEDs

Abstract

Through-space electron interaction plays a critical role in determining the optical and charge transport properties of functional materials featuring π-stacked architectures. However, developing efficient organic luminescent materials with such interactions has been a challenge because of the lack of well-established prototypical molecules. Here we report the design of through-space charge transfer hexaarylbenzenes (TSCT-HABs) containing circularly-arrayed electron donors (acridan/dendritic triacridan) and acceptors (triazine), which exhibit both thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effects for high-efficiency solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Spatial separation of donors and acceptors in the TSCT-HABs induces a small singlet–triplet energy splitting of 0.04–0.08 eV, leading to delayed fluorescence with microsecond-scale lifetimes. Meanwhile, the TSCT-HABs display the AIE effect with emission intensity enhanced by 6–17 fold from solution to the aggregation state owing to their propeller-shaped configuration. Solution-processed OLEDs based on the TSCT-HABs show maximum external quantum efficiency up to 14.2%, making them among the most efficient emitters for solution-processed TADF OLEDs.

Graphical abstract: Through-space charge transfer hexaarylbenzene dendrimers with thermally activated delayed fluorescence and aggregation-induced emission for efficient solution-processed OLEDs

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
08 11 2018
Accepted
11 1 2019
First published
14 1 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 2915-2923

Through-space charge transfer hexaarylbenzene dendrimers with thermally activated delayed fluorescence and aggregation-induced emission for efficient solution-processed OLEDs

X. Wang, S. Wang, J. Lv, S. Shao, L. Wang, X. Jing and F. Wang, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 2915 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04991B

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