Achieving narrow-bandwidth emission and high external quantum efficiency (EQE) simultaneously is a challenge for next-generation blue-emitting organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In this study, novel multiple-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF) emitters are developed by fusing an indolocarbazole unit with two carbazole skeletons using para-oriented nitrogen atoms. The resulting rigid and planar π-system without electron-accepting atoms exhibits pure blue photoluminescence at 470 nm, reaching a 100% quantum yield with a full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of 25 nm. Higher-level quantum chemistry calculations confirm an MR effect within the extended π-conjugation and an enhanced triplet-to-singlet crossover (104 s-1 ) through a reduced energy gap (ΔEST ) coupled with large spin-vibronic coupling mediated by low-lying triplet excited states. An OLED fabricated using the MR-TADF emitter with CIE color coordinates of (0.12, 0.16) exhibits a record high EQE of 30.9% and a small FWHM of 23 nm. With further optimization of the device structure, a high EQE of 33.8% is achieved without additional outcoupling enhancements owing to the near-perfect horizontal alignment of the emitting dipoles.
Keywords: blue emission; multiple-resonance; organic light-emitting diodes; spin-vibronic coupling; thermally activated delayed fluorescence.
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