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Binary Solvent Effects on Thermally Crosslinked Small Molecular Thin Films for Solution Processed Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

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Abstract

Solution processing of crosslinkable small molecular thin films is potentially attractive for the fabrication of large-area display panels based on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The characteristics of a wet-processed film made of a thermally crosslinked small-molecular material can be controlled by simply adding a cosolvent to its solution. The surface morphology of a nanometer-scale thin film made of N4,N4′-di(naphthalen-1-yl)-N4,N4′-bis(4-vinylphenyl)biphenyl-4,4′-diamine (VNPB), dissolved in chlorobenzene, improved dramatically after the addition of 20% cyclohexanone. At the same time, better resistance of the crosslinked layer to a number of solvents frequently used in the fabrication of the adjacent emitting layer was achieved. Moreover, the maximum current efficiency in the binary solvent device increased significantly to 22.2 Cd/A, compared to 9.7 Cd/A in the reference device without VNPB, and the device lifetime was extended by up to 74.8%. This illustrates a simple and additive-free strategy to prevent the formation of defects in solution processed thin-film stacks made of small-molecular materials. The insights gained will be helpful in the solution-based manufacture of large-area OLEDs and other optoelectronic components.

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted with support of the Dankook University Research Fund in 2018 (Award No. R201800660).

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  1. Department of Convergent Systems Engineering, Dankook University, 152 Jukjeon Road, Yongin, Korea

    Robert Bail

  2. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Dankook University, 152 Jukjeon Road, Yongin, Korea

    Joon Won Kang, You Jung Kang & Byung Doo Chin

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Bail, R., Kang, J.W., Kang, Y.J. et al. Binary Solvent Effects on Thermally Crosslinked Small Molecular Thin Films for Solution Processed Organic Light-Emitting Diodes. Electron. Mater. Lett. 17, 74–86 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-020-00258-5

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