Unraveling the Emission Mechanism of Radical-Based Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

Stable doublet radical molecules have recently emerged as a promising new type of emitters in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), approaching 100% internal quantum efficiency. However, the detailed emission mechanism of these open-shell emitters remains elusive. Through theoretical model analysis and first-principles calculations, we unraveled the emission mechanism of a typical emitter, (4-N-carbazolyl-2,6-dichlorophenyl)bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)methyl (TTM-1Cz). Our study showed that the electroluminescence arises from the first doublet excited state generated by injecting one electron into the singly occupied molecule orbital (SOMO) and one hole into the highest doubly occupied molecule orbital (HDMO). Because of the distinct charge-transfer rates in charge-injection processes, the puzzle of 100% formation ratio of the emissive doublet exciton in experiments is revealed. On the basis of this understanding, we propose simple molecular designs via substitutions that can tune the HDMO-SOMO gap and hence shift the emission wavelength to the region of yellow and green light.