Teaching an Old Poly(arylene ether) New Tricks: Efficient Blue Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence

Polymer light-emitting diodes are attractive for optoelectronic applications owing to their brightness and ease of processing. However, often metals have to be inserted to increase the luminescence efficiency, and producing blue emitters is a challenge. Here we present a strategy to make blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) polymers by directly embedding a small molecular blue TADF emitter into a poly(aryl ether) (PAE) backbone. Thanks to the oxygen-induced negligible electronic communication between neighboring TADF fragments, its corresponding blue delayed fluorescence can be inherited by the developed polymers. These polymers are free from metal catalyst contamination and show improved thermal stability. Through device optimization, a current efficiency of 29.7 cd/A (21.2 lm/W, 13.2%) is realized together with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates of (0.18, 0.32). The value is competitive with blue phosphorescent polymers, highlighting the importance of the PAE backbone in achieving high-performance blue delayed fluorescence at a macromolecular level. [Display omitted] •Directly embedding a small molecular blue TADF emitter in a poly(aryl ether) backbone•Oxygen-induced negligible electron communication leads to blue delayed fluorescence•The achieved device efficiency is competitive with blue phosphorescent polymers Chemistry; Polymer Chemistry; Physics; Optoelectronics; Materials Science