Abstract
Polymer light-emitting electrochemical cells (PLECs) employ a thin layer of a luminescent conjugated polymer admixed with an ionic source and an ionic conductor for the in situ formation of a p-i-n junction to facilitate the injections of both electrons and holes. The junction formation enables the use of an air-stable conductor as the cathode and a relatively thick emissive polymer layer which is more compatible with low-cost, scalable coating processes. This chapter overviews the operation mechanism, as well as the recent progress in employing crosslinkable ionic conductors to stabilize the p-i-n junction in PLECs. The static junction results in electroluminescence at high brightness, high efficiency, and prolonged lifetime. Solution-processable and printable electrode materials, such as silver nanowire, carbon nanotube, graphene, and conducting polymer, can be used in PLECs, thus opening a way to fully printable and stretchable displays.
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The authors acknowledge the financial supports by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-12-1-0074) and National Science Foundation (ECCS-1028412).
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Liang, J., Yu, Z., Li, L., Gao, H., Pei, Q. (2015). Stable Junction Polymer Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells. In: Zhao, Y. (eds) Organic Nanophotonics. Nano-Optics and Nanophotonics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45082-6_4
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