Synthesis and electroluminescence properties of novel silicon-based copolymers containing oxadiazole and fluorene units for PLED

Abstract Novel silicon-based copolymers containing an electron-deficient oxadiazole unit and a fluorine unit have been successfully synthesized through the Heck reaction. They are soluble in common organic solvents such as THF, CHCl3, etc. Their UV–visible absorption spectra exhibit a strong maximum band at the range of 355–381 nm in thin film. Upon a photoexcitation of 350 nm, their photoluminescence spectra show a strong maximum band around 455–475 nm in thin film. The multi-layered light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of Al(200 nm)/Ca(50 nm)/EL polymer(80 nm)/PEDOT(50 nm)/ITO were fabricated. J–V curves show the turn-on voltage in the range of 4.4–7 V. These LEDs emit the white emissive color, due to the combination of a blue electroluminescent (EL) color and a red EL color arising from the formation of a certain charge complex.