Tetradentate Pt[O^N^C^N] complexes with peripheral diarylamino substituents for high-performance and stable green organic light-emitting diodes with LT95 of 17 140 h at 1000 cd m−2

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Materials for optical and electronic devices, 2024-05, Vol.12 (17), p.6035-6045
• Main Authors: Li, Huiyang, Yi, Yuanhai, Tan, Xiaofeng, Dai, Lei, Faan-Fung Hung, Cheng, Gang, Tan, Kaixin, Chen, Ziyong, Yang, Jun, Zhou, Pengcheng, Shu, Xugang, Chi-Ming, Che
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbazoles; Color; Commercialization; Decay rate; Emitters; Excimers; Fluorescence; Iridium; Organic light emitting diodes; Phosphorescence; Phosphors; Purity; Service life assessment; Steric hindrance
• ISSN: 2050-7526; 2050-7534
• DOI: 10.1039/d4tc00614c

Phosphorescent metal emitters that remain stable under OLED (organic light-emitting diode) operating conditions are critical for the commercialization of organic displays and lighting technologies. Until now, only a few non-iridium emitters, including platinum emitters, can meet industry standard requirements for OLED operational lifetime. Here, we report four new tetradentate Pt[O^N^C^N] complexes (Pt1–Pt4) in which the [O^N^C^N] ligand contains peripheral o-diphenylamine or o-carbazole group(s). These o-arylamino groups can (1) increase steric hindrance, inhibit the formation of excimers, and improve efficiency and color purity; (2) cause a fast radiative decay rate, reduce device efficiency roll-off, and extend OLED device operational lifetime. OLEDs with Pt2 as the emitter exhibit an unprecedented long operational lifetime: an LT95 of up to 17 140 h at 1000 cd m−2, which is comparable to that of state-of-the-art iridium emitters. This result is one of the best values reported in the literature for non-iridium-based OLEDs. In addition, a phosphor sensitized fluorescent OLED device was fabricated using Pt2 as the sensitizer, with an EQEmax as high as 30.3% and improved color purity, characterized by a reduction in FWHM to 29 nm and CIE coordinates of (0.29, 0.67).