Au⋅⋅⋅H-C Interactions Support a Robust Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence (TADF) Gold(I) Complex for OLEDs with Little Efficiency Roll-Off and Good Stability

Xingyu Feng; Jian-Gong Yang; Jingsheng Miao; Cheng Zhong; Xiaojun Yin; Nengquan Li; Chao Wu; Qizheng Zhang; Yong Chen; Kai Li; Chuluo Yang

doi:10.1002/anie.202209451

Au⋅⋅⋅H-C Interactions Support a Robust Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence (TADF) Gold(I) Complex for OLEDs with Little Efficiency Roll-Off and Good Stability

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2022 Oct 4;61(40):e202209451. doi: 10.1002/anie.202209451. Epub 2022 Sep 2.

Authors

Xingyu Feng¹, Jian-Gong Yang^{1

2}, Jingsheng Miao¹, Cheng Zhong³, Xiaojun Yin¹, Nengquan Li¹, Chao Wu¹, Qizheng Zhang¹, Yong Chen⁴, Kai Li¹, Chuluo Yang¹

Affiliations

¹ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of New Information Display and Storage Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China.
² College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China.
³ Department of Chemistry, Hubei Key Lab on Organic and Polymeric Optoelectronic Materials, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P. R. China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Photochemical Conversion and Optoelectronic Materials & CAS-HKU Joint Laboratory on New Materials, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China.

PMID: 35932222
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202209451

Abstract

The practical use of luminescent mononuclear gold(I) complexes as optoelectronic materials has been limited by their inferior stability. Herein we demonstrate a strategy to improve the stability of gold(I) complexes which display thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). A highly rigid and groove-like σ-donating aryl ligand has been used to form dual Au⋅⋅⋅H-C hydrogen bonds. The secondary metal-ligand interactions have been authenticated by single-crystal structure, NMR spectroscopy and theoretical simulations. The TADF Au^I complex exhibits appealing emission properties (photoluminescence quantum yield=76 %; delayed fluorescence lifetime=1.2 μs) and much improved thermal and photo-stability. Vacuum-deposited organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) show promising electroluminescence with a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) over 23 % and negligible efficiency roll-off even at 10 000 cd m^-2 . An estimated LT₅₀ longer than 77 000 h with initial luminance of 100 cd m^-2 reveals good operational stability. This work suggests a way for design of stable luminescent gold(I) complexes.

Keywords: Gold(I) Complexes; Luminescence; OLED; Secondary Interactions; TADF.

Abstract

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