The efficiency of electroluminescent organic light-emitting devices1,2 can be improved by the introduction3 of a fluorescent dye. Energy transfer from the host to the dye occurs via excitons, but only the singlet spin states induce fluorescent emission; these represent a small fraction (about 25%) of the total excited-state population (the remainder are triplet states). Phosphorescent dyes, however, offer a means of achieving improved light-emission efficiencies, as emission may result from both singlet and triplet states. Here we report high-efficiency (≳90%) energy transfer from both singlet and triplet states, in a host material doped with the phosphorescent dye 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H-porphine platinum(II) (PtOEP). Our doped electroluminescent devices generate saturated red emission with peak external and internal quantum efficiencies of 4% and 23%, respectively. The luminescent efficiencies attainable with phosphorescent dyes may lead to new applications for organic materials. Moreover, our work establishes the utility of PtOEP as a probe of triplet behaviour and energy transfer in organic solid-state systems.

Highly efficient phosphorescent emission from organic electroluminescent devices

We describe the performance of an organic light-emitting device employing the green electrophosphorescent material, fac tris(2-phenylpyridine) iridium [Ir(ppy)3] doped into a 4,4′-N,N′-dicarbazole-biphenyl host. These devices exhibit peak external quantum and power efficiencies of 8.0% (28 cd/A) and 31 lm/W, respectively. At 100 cd/m2, the external quantum and power efficiencies are 7.5% (26 cd/A) and 19 lm/W at an operating voltage of 4.3 V. This performance can be explained by efficient transfer of both singlet and triplet excited states in the host to Ir(ppy)3, leading to a high internal efficiency. In addition, the short phosphorescent decay time of Ir(ppy)3 (<1 μs) reduces saturation of the phosphor at high drive currents, yielding a peak luminance of 100 000 cd/m2.

Very high-efficiency green organic light-emitting devices based on electrophosphorescence

We demonstrate very high efficiency electrophosphorescence in organic light-emitting devices employing a phosphorescent molecule doped into a wide energy gap host. Using bis(2-phenylpyridine)iridium(III) acetylacetonate [(ppy)2Ir(acac)] doped into 3-phenyl-4(1′-naphthyl)-5-phenyl-1,2,4-triazole, a maximum external quantum efficiency of (19.0±1.0)% and luminous power efficiency of (60±5) lm/W are achieved. The calculated internal quantum efficiency of (87±7)% is supported by the observed absence of thermally activated nonradiative loss in the photoluminescent efficiency of (ppy)2Ir(acac). Thus, very high external quantum efficiencies are due to the nearly 100% internal phosphorescence efficiency of (ppy)2Ir(acac) coupled with balanced hole and electron injection, and triplet exciton confinement within the light-emitting layer.

Nearly 100% internal phosphorescence efficiency in an organic light emitting device

The optoelectronic properties of polymeric semiconductor materials can be utilized for the fabrication of organic electronic and photonic devices. When key structural requirements are met, these materials exhibit unique properties such as solution processability, large charge transporting capabilities, and/or broad optical absorption. In this review recent developments in the area of π-conjugated polymeric semiconductors for organic thin-film (or field-effect) transistors (OTFTs or OFETs) and bulk-heterojunction photovoltaic (or solar) cell (BHJ-OPV or OSC) applications are summarized and analyzed.

π-Conjugated Polymers for Organic Electronics and Photovoltaic Cell Applications†

Electron and ambipolar transport in organic field-effect transistors.

We investigated a field-effect transistor (FET) based on a poly(3-n-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) to determine the influence of moisture on device characteristics and thus gain a deep understanding of the mechanism underlying the susceptibility to air of the operation of FETs of this kind. The fundamental output characteristics, which include effective field-effect modulation and saturation behavior in the output current, remained almost the same for every current–voltage profile in a vacuum, N2 and O2. By contrast, operation in N2 humidified with water resulted in enlarged off-state conduction and deterioration in the saturation behavior, in the same manner as that experienced with exposure to room air. We concluded that atmospheric water had a greater effect on the susceptibility of the device operation to air than O2, whose p-type doping activity as regards P3HT caused only a small increase in the conductivity of the active layer and a slight decrease in the field-effect mobility with exposure at ambient pres...

Influence of moisture on device characteristics of polythiophene-based field-effect transistors

A flexible thermoelectric generator (TEG) was fabricated on a polyethylene naphthalate film substrate using a printing process. The thermoelectric material used in this study, a composite material consisting of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polystyrene, contained approximately 35 vol. % of voids. Because of the reduction in the density of the CNT–polystyrene composite caused by the voids, the TEG was remarkably lightweight (weight per unit area: ≈15.1 mg/cm2). The TEG generated approximately 55 mW/m2 of power at a temperature difference of 70 °C.

Flexible and lightweight thermoelectric generators composed of carbon nanotube–polystyrene composites printed on film substrate

We report the effects of dyes doped in the emitting layer on the electroluminescent characteristics of multilayer organic light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) using a polysilane polymer, poly(methylphenylsilane) (PMPS), as the hole transporting material. We formed the emitting layer by dispersing in poly(styrene) (PS), one of four dyes whose fluorescence ranged from blue to orange. Two‐ or three‐layer LEDs were prepared by combining PMPS and dye doped PS layers with the indium tin oxide and aluminum used for the hole and electron injecting electrodes, respectively. The three‐layer LEDs had an additional vacuum‐deposited tris‐(8‐hydroxyquinoline) aluminum layer. The electroluminescent (EL) characteristics of these multilayer organic LEDs, such as the current‐voltage–EL intensity curve, the relative EL efficiency, and the EL emitting species, exhibit a marked dependence on the emitting dye. The observed dependence can be described consistently in terms of the dependence of the charge carrier trapping efficiency on ...

Effects of doping dyes on the electroluminescent characteristics of multilayer organic light‐emitting diodes

We report the electroluminescent characteristics of organic multilayer light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) with a benzophenone (BP) dispersed poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) film as an emitting layer. The electroluminescence (EL) intensity of these LEDs increases with decreasing temperature from 273 to 100 K when they are operated at the same voltages or the same current densities. The EL spectrum of the LEDs, which peaks at around 450 nm, is identical to the phosphorescence spectrum of BP in PMMA. In addition, the EL decay time was determined as 46.8 μs at 100 K by applying a rectangular voltage pulse. These results indicate that the EL of the LED originates from the triplet excited states of BP.

Electroluminescence from triplet excited states of benzophenone

Lightweight and flexible thermoelectric devices consisting of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based materials have the potential to be used for the various applications, such as energy harvesting from the low-temperature waste heat that exists ubiquitously in living areas. Because high-performance CNT-based materials are crucial for the broad-ranging employment of CNT-based thermoelectric devices, considerable efforts are being made to improve the power-generation capability of CNT-based thermoelectric materials. Here, we report high-performance thermoelectric composites consisting of CNT bundles and polystyrene fabricated by a planetary ball milling-based dispersion technique, which allows for the direct dispersion of the CNT bundles within the polystyrene matrix without causing the disaggregation of the bundled CNTs into individual ones. The CNT-bundles/polystyrene composites reported here exhibit a power factor of 413 μW/K2·m.

Satoshi Hoshino

Papers

Influence of moisture on device characteristics of polythiophene-based field-effect transistors

Flexible and lightweight thermoelectric generators composed of carbon nanotube–polystyrene composites printed on film substrate

Effects of doping dyes on the electroluminescent characteristics of multilayer organic light‐emitting diodes

Electroluminescence from triplet excited states of benzophenone

Carbon nanotube bundles/polystyrene composites as high-performance flexible thermoelectric materials