Tuning color-correlated temperature and color rendering index of phosphorescent white polymer light-emitting diodes: Towards healthy solid-state lighting

Abstract We report on efficient solution-processed phosphorescent white polymer light-emitting diodes (WPLEDs) with tunable color-correlated temperature (CCT) and color rendering index (CRI), through rationally controlling the composition of the emission layer (EML) based on a near-infrared (NIR)-emitting dinuclear cyclometalated platinum (II) complex bridged with NˆS anionic ligand, named (niq) 2 Pt 2 (μ-C 8 PhOXT) 2 (Pt-1, in which PhOXT is 5-(phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole)-2-thiol, niq is 1-naphthylisoquinolinato), a sky-blue emitter iridium (III) bis[(4,6-di-fluorophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C2] (picolinate) (FIrpic), and a yellow emitter bis[2-(thieno[3,2- c ]pyridin-4-yl)phenyl]iridium(III)(acetylacetonato) (PO-01). One of the best three-color WPLEDs shows a CCT of 3246 K as well as an excellent high CRI of 87, which are greatly beneficial in reducing deep-blue light damage and simultaneously meet the requirement for good color reproduction. Meanwhile, the relevant WPLED also achieves a maximum current efficiency of 12.1 cd/A, corresponding to an external quantum efficiency of 10.6%. This work presents an effective approach through rational combination of sky-blue, yellow, and NIR emitters towards high-performance solution-processable WPLEDs with a physiologically-friendly CCT and a high CRI.