Citric Acid-Treated PEDOT:PSS with Optimized Interfacial Energetics for Phosphorescent OLEDs Achieving over 20% EQE and Extended Lifetime.
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| Title: | Citric Acid-Treated PEDOT:PSS with Optimized Interfacial Energetics for Phosphorescent OLEDs Achieving over 20% EQE and Extended Lifetime. |
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| Authors: | Wu, Ming1,2 (AUTHOR), Zhu, Wenqing1,2 (AUTHOR) wqzhu@shu.edu.cn, Feng, Zhiyin1,2 (AUTHOR), Lin, Qidi1,2 (AUTHOR), Huang, Lu1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Polymers (20734360). May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 9, p1104. 14p. |
| Subjects: | Organic light emitting diodes, Quantum efficiency, Service life, Conducting polymers, Citric acid |
| Abstract: | The hole injection layer (HIL) plays a critical role in achieving high efficiency and operational stability in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). As a commonly used HIL, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is limited by its intrinsically low electrical conductivity and mismatched work function alignment with the hole transport layer (HTL), leading to inefficient hole injection and carrier imbalance. In this work, a mild citric acid (CA) treatment is used to simultaneously enhance the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS through the partial removal of insulating PSS and tune its work function for improved energy level alignment at the anode interface. This simultaneous optimization effectively enhances the hole transport capability, successfully matching the electron transport capability to realize highly improved charge carrier balance within the device. Consequently, Ir(ppy)3-based phosphorescent OLEDs featuring the optimally treated PEDOT:PSS HIL deliver a maximum external quantum efficiency of 20.37%, representing a 21% improvement over devices using pristine PEDOT:PSS, along with a twofold extension in operational lifetime. This strategy demonstrates a simple and controllable approach to interfacial engineering, providing practical guidance for the development of high-performance and stable OLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 193716239 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Citric Acid-Treated PEDOT:PSS with Optimized Interfacial Energetics for Phosphorescent OLEDs Achieving over 20% EQE and Extended Lifetime. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wu%2C+Ming%22">Wu, Ming</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhu%2C+Wenqing%22">Zhu, Wenqing</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> wqzhu@shu.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Feng%2C+Zhiyin%22">Feng, Zhiyin</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lin%2C+Qidi%22">Lin, Qidi</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Huang%2C+Lu%22">Huang, Lu</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Polymers+%2820734360%29%22">Polymers (20734360)</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 9, p1104. 14p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Organic+light+emitting+diodes%22">Organic light emitting diodes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Quantum+efficiency%22">Quantum efficiency</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Service+life%22">Service life</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Conducting+polymers%22">Conducting polymers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Citric+acid%22">Citric acid</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The hole injection layer (HIL) plays a critical role in achieving high efficiency and operational stability in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). As a commonly used HIL, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is limited by its intrinsically low electrical conductivity and mismatched work function alignment with the hole transport layer (HTL), leading to inefficient hole injection and carrier imbalance. In this work, a mild citric acid (CA) treatment is used to simultaneously enhance the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS through the partial removal of insulating PSS and tune its work function for improved energy level alignment at the anode interface. This simultaneous optimization effectively enhances the hole transport capability, successfully matching the electron transport capability to realize highly improved charge carrier balance within the device. Consequently, Ir(ppy)3-based phosphorescent OLEDs featuring the optimally treated PEDOT:PSS HIL deliver a maximum external quantum efficiency of 20.37%, representing a 21% improvement over devices using pristine PEDOT:PSS, along with a twofold extension in operational lifetime. This strategy demonstrates a simple and controllable approach to interfacial engineering, providing practical guidance for the development of high-performance and stable OLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.3390/polym18091104 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 14 StartPage: 1104 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Organic light emitting diodes Type: general – SubjectFull: Quantum efficiency Type: general – SubjectFull: Service life Type: general – SubjectFull: Conducting polymers Type: general – SubjectFull: Citric acid Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Citric Acid-Treated PEDOT:PSS with Optimized Interfacial Energetics for Phosphorescent OLEDs Achieving over 20% EQE and Extended Lifetime. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Wu, Ming – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Zhu, Wenqing – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Feng, Zhiyin – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Lin, Qidi – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Huang, Lu IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 05 Text: May2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 20734360 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 18 – Type: issue Value: 9 Titles: – TitleFull: Polymers (20734360) Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
