Fundamental tradeoff between emission intensity and efficiency in light-emitting electrochemical cells

The characteristic doping process in polymer light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) causes a tradeoff between luminescence intensity and efficiency. Experiments and numerical modeling on thin film polymer LECs show that, on the one hand, carrier injection and transport benefit from electrochemi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Reenen, Stephan van (Author) , Janssen, René A. J. (Author) , Kemerink, Martijn (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 07 April 2015
In: Advanced functional materials
Year: 2015, Volume: 25, Issue: 20, Pages: 3066-3073
ISSN:1616-3028
DOI:10.1002/adfm.201403945
Online Access:Verlag, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201403945
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Author Notes:Stephan Reenen, Rene Janssen, and Martijn Kemerink
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Summary:The characteristic doping process in polymer light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) causes a tradeoff between luminescence intensity and efficiency. Experiments and numerical modeling on thin film polymer LECs show that, on the one hand, carrier injection and transport benefit from electrochemical doping, leading to increased electron-hole recombination. On the other hand, the radiative recombination efficiency is reduced by exciton quenching by polarons involved in the doping. Consequently, the quasi-steady-state luminescent efficiency decreases with increasing ion concentration. The transient of the luminescent efficiency shows a characteristic roll-off while the current continuously increases, attributed to ongoing electrochemical doping and the associated exciton quenching. Both effects can be modeled by exciton polaron-quenching via diffusion-assisted Förster resonance energy transfer. These results indicate that the tradeoff between efficiency and intensity is fundamental, suggesting that the application realm of future LECs should be sought in high-brightness, low-production cost devices, rather than in high-efficiency devices.
Item Description:Gesehen am 05.12.2019
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1616-3028
DOI:10.1002/adfm.201403945