High Brightness Fluorescent White Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes by Promoted Hole Injection via Reduced Barrier by Interfacial Dipole Imparted from Chlorinated Indium Tin Oxide to the Hole Injection Layer PEDOT:PSS.

We demonstrated that introducing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate as a hole transport layer (HTL) on top of chlorinated indium tin oxide (Cl-ITO) anode can lead to a deeper highest occupied molecular orbital level of the HTL (promoting from 5.22 to 5.42 eV) due to the interfacial dipole imparted by the Cl-ITO, which allows barrier-free hole injection to the emitting layer with polyspirobifluorene doped with the yellow emitter rubrene and significantly prevents excitons quenching by residual chlorine radicals on the surface of Cl-ITO. By use of poly[9,9-bis(6'-(18-crown-6)methoxy)hexyl)fluorene] chelating to potassium ion (PFCn6:K+) as electron injection layer and air-stable high work function (EΦ) metal aluminum as the cathode, the performance of fluorescent white polymer light-emitting diode (WPLED) achieves the high maximum brightness (Bmax) of 61 523 cd/m2 and maximum luminance efficiency (ηL, max) of 10.3 cd/A. Replacing PFCn6:K+/Al cathode by CsF/Al, the Bmax and ηL, max are promoted to 87 615 cd/m2 (the record value in WPLED) and 11.1 cd/A, respectively.