Grant: Idea to Innovation

Blue and white phosphorescent emitters are in great demand in OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes) industry. They are the key ingredients for highly energy efficient full-color information display devices (e.g. computer and TV monitors, cellular phones etc) and next generation lighting devices (e.g. lighting wall panels, tiles, or stripes) based on OLED technologies. Compared to fluorescent emitters, phosphorescent emitters can triple or quadruple the external quantum efficiency of OLEDs, making them highly attractive for use in energy-efficient OLEDs. Currently no stable blue phosphorescent compounds are available for OLEDs. Our group has recently discovered a new class of highly efficient blue phosphorescent platinum compounds that can be used in either blue or white OLEDs. Preliminary evaluation results indicate that this new class of blue emitters is very promising for applications in OLEDs. This proposal seeks funding for (a) improved synthetic procedures for large-scale synthesis of the new blue emitters so that samples can be provided to OLEDs companies for evaluation, (b) the investigation of performance, lifetime and stability of the new materials in OLEDs, and (c) the validation of the new phosphorescent materials by OLEDs industry. This work is a key step toward future commercialization/technology transfer of the new emitters.