Abstract
To utilize thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) technology for future displays, it is necessary to develop host materials that can harness the full potential of blue TADF emitters. We suggest an elaborative approach for designing host molecules for blue TADF devices with simultaneously improved efficiency and stability. We significantly enhanced the delayed fluorescence quantum yield by engineering the molecular geometry, polarity, and excited-state dipole moment of host molecules based on 3′,5-di(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-[1,1′-biphenyl]-3-carbonitrile. The engineerd hosts stabilized the charge-transfer excited states of TADF emitters, suppressed exciton quenching, and improved the charge balance in the emitting layer. Moreover, because the hosts are phosphine-oxide bond-free molecules, they are photochemically and electrochemically stable compared to bis[2-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl] ether oxide, the most popular high-polarity host. The devices employing the hosts exhibited a two-fold increase in external quantum efficiency and a 37-fold increase in operation lifetime compared to control devices with the same TADF emitter.