White polymer light-emitting electrochemical cells using emission from exciplexes with long intermolecular distances formed between polyfluorene and π-conjugated amine molecules

The authors present white polymer light-emitting electrochemical cells (PLECs) fabricated with polymer blend films of poly(9,9-di-n-dodecylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFD) and π-conjugated triphenylamine molecules. The PLECs have bulk heterojunction structures composed of van der Waals interfaces between the PFD segments and the amine molecules. White-light electroluminescence (EL) can be achieved via light-mixing of the blue exciton emission from PFD and long-wavelength exciplex emission from excited complexes consisting of PFD segments (acceptors (As)) and the amine molecules (donors (Ds)). Precise control of the distances between the PFD and the amine molecules, affected through proper choice of the concentrations of PFD, amine molecules, and polymeric solid electrolytes, is critical to realizing white emission. White PLECs can be fabricated with PFD and amine molecules whose highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels range from -5.3 eV to -5.0 eV. Meanwhile, PLECs fabricated with amine molecules whose HOMO levels are lower than -5.6 eV cannot produce exciplex emission. The distances between the PFD and amine molecules of the exciplexes appear to be larger than 0.4 nm. These experimental data are explained by perturbation theory using the charge-transfer state (A - D +), the locally excited state (A∗ D), which is assumed to be the locally excited acceptor state in which there is no interaction with the donor molecule; and the energy gap between the HOMO levels of the PFD and the amine molecules. Color-stable white PLECs were fabricated using 4,4′,4″-tris[N-(2-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]-triphenylamine, which has a HOMO level of -5.2 eV, as the amine molecule, and the color stability of the device is a function of the fact that PFD forms exciplexes with these molecules.