Recent progress in fluorescent blue light-emitting materials

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), as an emerging technology for display and solid state lighting application, have many advantages including self-emission, lightweight, flexibility, low driving voltage, low power consumption, and low production cost. With the advancement of light emitting materials development and device architecture optimization, mobile phones and televisions based on OLED technology are already in the market. However, to obtain efficient, stable and pure blue emission than producing lower-energy colors is still one of the important subjects of these challenges. Full color and pure white light can be achieved only having stable blue emitting materials. To address this issue, significant effort has been devoted to develop novel blue light emitting materials in the past decade aiming at further improving device efficiency, color quality of emission light, and device lifetime. This review focuses on recent efforts of synthesis and device performance of small molecules, oligomers and polymers for blue emission of organic electroluminescent devices.

Red-green-blue electrogenerated chemiluminescence utilizing a digital camera as detector

Exploiting the distinct excitation and emission properties of concomitant electrochemiluminophores in conjunction with the inherent color selectivity of a conventional digital camera, we create a new strategy for multiplexed electrogenerated chemiluminescence detection, suitable for the development of low-cost, portable clinical diagnostic devices. Red, green and blue emitters can be efficiently resolved over the three-dimensional space of ECL intensity versus applied potential and emission wavelength. As the relative contribution ratio of each emitter to the photographic RGB channels is constant, the RGB ECL intensity versus applied-potential curves could be effectively isolated to a single emitter at each potential.

Iridium(III) N-heterocyclic carbene complexes: an experimental and theoretical study of structural, spectroscopic, electrochemical and electrogenerated chemiluminescence properties

Four cationic heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes have been prepared from methyl- or benzyl-substituted chelating imidazolylidene or benzimidazolylidene ligands using a Ag(I) transmetallation protocol. The synthesised iridium(III) complexes were characterised by elemental analysis, (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy and the molecular structures for three complexes were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. A combined theoretical and experimental investigation into the spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of the series was performed in order to gain understanding into the factors influencing photoluminescence and electrochemiluminescence efficiency for these complexes, with the results compared with those of similar NHC complexes of iridium and ruthenium. The N^C coordination mode in these complexes is thought to stabilise thermally accessible non-emissive states relative to the case with analogous complexes with C^C coordinated NHC ligands, resulting in low quantum yields. As a result of this and the instability of the oxidised and reduced forms of the complexes, the electrogenerated chemiluminescence intensities for the compounds are also low, despite favourable energetics. These studies provide valuable insights into the factors that must be considered when designing new NHC-based luminescent complexes.

Nitrogen-bridged polyphenylene-based materials for electronic applications

Conjugated polymers are macromolecules that possess alternating single and double bonds along the main chain. These polymers combine the optoelectronic properties of semiconductors with the mechanical properties and processing advantages of plastics. In this thesis we discuss the synthesis, characterization and application of polyphenylene-based materials in various electronic devices. Poly(2,7-carbazole)s have the potential to be useful as blue emitters, but also as donor materials in solar cells due to their better hole-accepting properties. However, it is associated with two major drawbacks (1) the emission maximum occurs at 421 nm where the human eye is not very sensitive and (2) the 3- and 6- positions of carbazole are susceptible to chemical or electrochemical degradation. To overcome these problems, the ladder-type nitrogen-bridged polymers are synthesized. The resulting series of polymers, nitrogen-bridged poly(ladder-type tetraphenylene), nitrogen-bridged poly(ladder-type pentaphenylene), nitrogen-bridged poly(ladder-type hexaphenylene) and its derivatives are discussed in the light of photophysical and electrochemical properties and tested in PLEDs, solar cell, and OFETs. A promising trend which has emerged in recent years is the use of well defined oligomers as model compounds for their corresponding polymers. However, the uses of these molecules are many times limited by their solubility and one has to use vapor deposition techniques which require high vacuum and temperature and cannot be used for large area applications. One solution to this problem is the synthesis of small molecules having enough alkyl chain on the backbone so that they can be solution or melt processed and has the ability to form thin films like polymers as well as retain the high ordered structure characteristics of small molecules. Therefore, in the present work soluble ladderized oligomers based on thiophene and carbazole with different end group were made and tested in OFET devices. Carbazole is an attractive raw material for the synthesis of dyes since it is cheap and readily available. Carbazoledioxazine, commercially known as violet 23 is a representative compound of dioxazine pigments. As part of our efforts into developing cheap alternatives to violet 23, the synthesis and characterization of a new series of dyes by Buchwald-type coupling of 3-aminocarbazole with various isomers of chloroanthraquinone are presented.

Injection, Transport, Absorption and Phosphorescence Properties of a Series of Blue-Emitting Ir(III) Emitters in OLEDs: a DFT and Time-Dependent DFT Study

Quantum-chemistry methods were explored to investigate the electronic structures, injection and transport properties, absorption and phosphorescence mechanism of a series of blue-emitting Ir(III) complexes {[(F-2-ppy)(2)Ir(pta -X/pyN4)], where F-2-ppy = (2,4-difluoro)phenylpyridine; pta = pyridine-1,2,4-triazole; X = phenyl(1); p-tolyl (2); 2,6-difluororophenyl (3); -CF3 (4), and pyN4 = pyridine-1,2,4-tetrazolate (5)}, which are used as emitters in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The mobility of hole and electron were studied computationally based on the Marcus theory. Calculations of Ionization potentials (IPs) and electron affinities (EAs) were used to evaluate the injection abilities of holes and electrons into these complexes.

Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Spiro-Starburst-Structures as Blue Light Emitters and Zeolites

Spiro-starburst-structures with symmetric globular structures in forms of first and second generations that readily form stable amorphous glasses have been synthesized and then characterised in this work. During the synthesis of these materials, possibilities of the extension of the chains of the phenyl rings in 2,2’,7 and 7’-positions of the central core of the spirobifluorene as well as the 2’,7 and 7’-positions of the terminal spirobifluorene units of the spiro-starburst-structures have been investigated so that solubilities and morphologies of the compounds are not negatively influenced. Their morphological properties have been explored by recording their decomposition temperature and glass transition temperature. These compounds possessing two perpendicular arrangement of the two molecular halves show high glass transition temperature (Tg), which is one of the most important parameter indicating the stability of the amorphous state of the material for optoelectronic devices like organic light emitting diodes. Within the species of second generation compounds, for example, 4-spiro3 shows the highest Tg (330 °C) and the highest branching degree. When one [4B(SBF)SBF-SBF 84] or two [4SBFSBF-SBF 79] terminal spirobifluorene units are removed, the Tg decreases to 318 °C and 307 °C respectively. Photo absorption and fluorescence spectra and cyclic voltammetry measurements are taken in account to characterize the optoelectronic properties of the compounds. Spiro-starburst-structures emit radiation in the blue region of the visible spectrum. The peak maxima of absorption and emission spectra are observed to be at higher wavelength in the molecules with longer chromophore chains than in the molecules with shorter chromophore chains. Excitation spectra are monitored with their emission peak maxima. The increasing absorbing species in molecule leads to increasing molar extinction coefficient. In the case of 4B(TP)SBF-SBF 53 and 4B(SBF)SBF-SBF 84, the greater values of the molar extinction coefficients (43*104 and 44*104 L mol-1 cm-1 respectively) are the evidences of the presence of four times octiphenyl conjugation rings and eight times terminal fluorene units respectively. The optical properties of solid states of these compounds in the form of thin film indicate that the intermolecular interaction and aggregation of individual molecules in neat amorphous films are effectively hindered by their sterically demanding structures. Accordingly, in solid state, they behave like isolated molecules in highly dilute solution. Cyclic voltammetry measurements of these compounds show electrochemically reversibility and stability. Furthermore, the zeolitic nature (host-guest) of the molecular sieve of the synthesized spiro-starburst-structures has been analysed by thermogravimetric analysis method.

Fabrication and Characterization of High Power InGaN Blue-Violet Lasers with an Array Structure

InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well-structure laser diodes with an array structure are successfully fabricated on sapphire substrates. The laser diode consists of four emitter stripes which share common electrodes on one laser chip. An 800-mu m-long cavity is formed by cleaving the substrate along the < 1 (1) over bar 00 >. orientation using laser scriber. The threshold current and voltage of the laser array diode are 2A and 10.5 V, respectively. A light output peak power of 12W under pulsed current injection at room temperature is achieved. We simulate the electric properties of GaN based laser diode in a co-planar structure and the results show that minimizing the difference of distances between the different ridges and the n-electrode and increasing the electrical conductivity of the n-type GaN are two effective ways to improve the uniformity of carrier distribution in emitter stripes. Two pairs of emitters on a chip are arranged to be located near the two n-electrode pads on the left and right sides, and the four stripe emitters can laser together. The laser diode shows two sharp peaks of light output at 408 and 409 nm above the threshold current. The full widths at half maximum for the parallel and perpendicular far field patterns are 8 degrees and 32 degrees, respectively.

Intersubband absorption energy shifts in 3-level system for asymmetric quantum well terahertz emitters

Intersubband absorption energy shifts in 3-level system stemming from depolarization and excitonlike effects are investigated. Analytically, the expressions we derive present good explanations to the conventional 2-level results and bare potential transition energy results; and numerical results show that they are more exact than the previous studies to describe the 3-level system depolarization and excitonlike shift (DES) character especially for higher carrier density (more than 8 x 10(11) cm(-2)). One interesting detail we find is that the "large blue" DES becomes "slight redshift" in the low doping limit (less than 1.9 x 10(11) cm(-2)), which may be neglected by the previous studies of intersubband transitions. Temperature character of DES in the step well structure is also numerically studied. Finally the above are applied to calculate asymmetric step quantum well structures. The two main functional aspects of terahertz (THz) emitters are discussed and several basic optimizing conditions are considered. By adjusting the well geometry parameters and material composition systematically, some optimized structures which satisfy all of the six conditions are recommended in tables. These optimizations may provide useful references to the design of 3-level-based optically pumping THz emitters.

Solution-Processable Carbazole-Based Conjugated Dendritic Hosts for Power-Efficient Blue-Electrophosphorescent Devices

A novel class of hosts suitable for solution processing has been developed based on a conjugated dendritic scaffold. By increasing the dendron generation, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level can be tuned to facilitate hole injection, while the triplet energy remains at a high level, sufficient to host high-energy-triplet emitters. A power-efficient blue-electrophosphorescent device based on H2 (see figure) is presented.

Multifunctional bipolar triphenylamine/oxadiazole derivatives: highly efficient blue fluorescence, red phosphorescence host and two-color based white OLEDs

Two simple triphenylamine/oxadiazole derivatives were synthesized and fully characterized; their multifunctionality as highly efficient non-doped blue fluorescence, excellent red phosphorescent host and single-doped two-color based white OLEDs has been demonstrated.

Superior color rendering with a phosphor-converted blue-cyan monolithic light-emitting diode

The future generation of modern illumination should not only be cheap and highly efficient, but also demonstrate high quality of light, light which allows better color differentiation and fidelity. Here we are presenting a novel approach to create a white solid-state light source providing ultimate color rendition necessary for a number of applications. The proposed semi-hybrid device combines a monolithic blue-cyan light emitting diode (MBC LED) with a green-red phosphor mixture. It has shown a superior color rendering index (CRI), 98.6, at correlated color temperature of around 3400 K. The MBC LED epi-structure did not suffer from the efficiency reduction typical for monolithic multi-color emitters and was implemented in the two most popular chip designs: “epi-up” and “flip-chip”. Redistribution of the blue and cyan band amplitudes in the white-light emission spectrum, using the operating current, is found to be an effective tool for fine tuning the color characteristics. (Figure presented.).

The big blue

For the 1.5 million travellers who annually visit the Blue Mountains to experience the Australian Bush, it just got closer. The Echo Point redevelopment by Tract Consultants is a megastructure in the void.

Synthesis, characterization of palygorskite supported zero-valent iron and its application for methylene blue adsorption

In this work, natural palygorskite impregnated with zero-valent iron (ZVI) was prepared and characterised. The combination of ZVI particles on surface of fibrous palygorskite can help to overcome the disadvantage of ultra-fine powders which may have strong tendency to agglomerate into larger particles, resulting in an adverse effect on both effective surface area and catalyst performance. There is a significant increase of methylene blue (MB) decolourized efficiency on acid treated palygorskite with ZVI grafted, within 5 mins, the concentration of MB in the solution was decreased from 94 mg/L to around 20 mg/L and the equilibration was reached at about 30 to 60 mins with only around 10 mg/L MB remained in solution. Changes in the surface and structure of prepared materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, surface analysing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with element analysis and mapping. Comparing with zero-valent iron and palygorskite, the presence of zero-valent iron reactive species on the palygorskite surface strongly increases the decolourization capacity for methylene blue, and it is significant for providing novel modified clay catalyst materials for the removal of organic contaminants from waste water.

Synchronous fluorescence and UV–vis spectroscopic studies of interactions between the tetracycline antibiotic, aluminium ions and DNA with the aid of the Methylene Blue dye probe

Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) was applied for the investigation of interactions of the antibiotic, tetracycline (TC), with DNA in the presence of aluminium ions (Al3+). The study was facilitated by the use of the Methylene Blue (MB) dye probe, and the interpretation of the spectral data with the aid of the chemometrics method, parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). Three-way synchronous fluorescence analysis extracted the important optimum constant wavelength differences, Δλ, and showed that for the TC–Al3+–DNA, TC–Al3+ and MB dye systems, the associated Δλ values were different (Δλ = 80, 75 and 30 nm, respectively). Subsequent PARAFAC analysis demonstrated the extraction of the equilibrium concentration profiles for the TC–Al3+, TC–Al3+–DNA and MB probe systems. This information is unobtainable by conventional means of data interpretation. The results indicated that the MB dye interacted with the TC–Al3+–DNA surface complex, presumably via a reaction intermediate, TC–Al3+–DNA–MB, leading to the displacement of the TC–Al3+ by the incoming MB dye probe.