Triplet Exciton Upconverting Blue Exciplex Host for Deep Blue Phosphors

A thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF)-type exciplex host employing a novel electron-transport type (n-type) type host managing positive polarons and stabilizing excitons was developed to elongate the device lifetime of deep blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PhOLEDs). The bipolar n-type host was designed to prevent hole leakage and secure hole stability while being stabilized under excitons by introducing a CN-modified carbazole moiety as a weak donor. The TADF-type exciplex host-based blue PhOLEDs showed high (above 20 %) quantum efficiency with a deep blue color coordinate of (0.14, 0.16) and elongated device lifetime. The device operational lifetime of the blue PhOLEDs bearing the TADF-type exciplex host was extended by more than twice compared to that of the exciplex-free unipolar host. This work suggested a design concept of the n-type host to develop the TADF-type exciplex host for deep blue phosphors to reach a long lifespan in the deep blue PhOLEDs.