Carbon nanotube-based organic light emitting diodes

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes; revolutionary and fascinating from the materials point of view and exceedingly sensational from a research point of view; are standing today at the threshold between inorganic electronics and organic electronics and posing a serious challenge to the big daddies of these two domains in electronics i.e., silicon and indium tin oxide (ITO). In the field of inorganic electronics, carbon nanotubes offer advantages such as high current carrying capacity, ballistic transport, absence of dangling bonds, etc. and on the other hand, in the field of organic electronics, carbon nanotubes offer advantages such as high conductivity, high carrier mobility, optical transparency (in visible and IR spectral ranges), flexibility, robustness, environmental resistance, etc. and hence, they are seriously being considered as contenders to silicon and ITO. This review traces the origin of carbon nanotubes in the field of organic electronics (with emphasis on organic light emitting diodes) and moves on to cover the latest advances in the field of carbon nanotube-based organic light emitting diodes. Topics that are covered within include applications of multi-wall nanotubes and single-wall nanotubes in organic light emitting diodes. Applications of carbon nanotubes as hole-transport layers, as electron-transport layers, as transparent electrodes, etc. in organic light emitting diodes are discussed and the daunting challenges facing this progressive field today are brought into the limelight.