A red thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitter with mitigated efficiency roll-off via a π-stacked multiple donor–acceptor structure

Abstract

Red to near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) utilizing thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters continue to exhibit significant external quantum efficiency (EQE) roll-off at high luminance levels exceeding 1000 cd m⁻², attributed to the relatively modest reverse intersystem crossing rate constant (k_RISC) of approximately 10³–10⁴ s⁻¹. This study presents a novel TADF molecule, TCPP-DTPA, featuring a structurally rigid π-stacked multiple donor/acceptor design. The enhanced donor/acceptor interactions minimize the energy gap between the singlet and triplet states of the TCPP-DTPA, allowing for an efficient RISC process with a high rate constant of 4.67 × 10⁶ s⁻¹. The OLED utilizing TCPP-DTPA demonstrates a peak EQE of 23.5% at a wavelength of 618 nm. Additionally, notable EQE values of 7.8% and 14.9% are observed at a luminance of 1000 cd m⁻² for OLEDs without and with an energy-transfer assistant dopant in the emissive layer, respectively. This research contributes to enhancing the efficiency of high-brightness red TADF OLEDs, while also offering valuable insights for the optimization of molecular design and device engineering to mitigate the electroluminescence efficiency roll-off.