New research by a Korean research team can improve the lifespan of blue phosphorescent OLED materials

On January 14th, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) announced that its research team has developed a luminescent material design technology that can significantly extend the lifespan of blue phosphorescent OLED materials. This technology significantly enhances the stability of blue phosphorescent OLED materials without altering the emission color, and is expected to promote reduced power consumption and extended service life of display devices.

The research team discovered that during the luminescence process of platinum-based high-efficiency blue phosphorescent OLED materials, the breakage of specific chemical bonds within the molecules is the primary reason for their shortened lifespan. Based on this discovery, the research team proposed an innovative molecular design principle: to specifically strengthen these key chemical bonds while maintaining the luminescent color unchanged.

 During the research process, the team utilized a supercomputer to systematically analyze and screen over a hundred molecular structures, ultimately successfully identifying six novel luminescent materials as candidates. These materials can be directly applied to existing OLED manufacturing processes, and compared to existing materials, their stability indicators have been improved by approximately two times, while still maintaining deep blue luminescent characteristics.

 A member of the KAIST team stated, "The lifespan issue of blue OLEDs has been a long-standing ailment in the display industry. The significance of this research lies in its proposal of a molecular design principle that can selectively enhance stability without causing color variation."

 Currently, among OLED luminescent materials, red and green materials have fully transitioned into the high-efficiency second-generation phosphorescent technology phase, with mature technology and large-scale commercial applications. However, blue materials remain a core challenge in the industry. Currently, commercial products still primarily rely on the first-generation fluorescent materials with lower luminous efficiency, while higher-efficiency blue phosphorescent materials or third-generation TADF (thermally activated delayed fluorescence) materials are in the critical stage of overcoming lifespan and stability issues.