Novel host materials for single-component white organic light-emitting diodes based on 9-naphthylanthracene derivatives

A series of 9-naphthylanthracene based dimers and trimers were synthesized and characterized. TGA studies reveal that they are all thermally stable with decomposition temperatures well above 500 °C. Upon optical excitation, all of these dimers and trimers show intense blue emission in common organic solvents, accompanied by a new peak at long wavelength in the solid state. They exhibit nanosecond transient lifetimes consisting of two decay components, suggesting the formation of excimers. Single-component light-emitting electroluminescent devices based on these robust materials have been fabricated. The device based on 4,4′-bis(9-(1-naphthyl)anthracen-10-yl)biphenyl exhibits a maximum luminance efficiency of 7.0 cd A^-1 with CIE coordinates of (0.31, 0.36) and luminance of 1396 cd m^-2 at 6.9 V. The device based on 1,3,5-tris(9-(1-naphthyl)anthracen-10-yl)benzene exhibits a maximum luminance efficiency of 5.78 cd A^-1 with CIE coordinates of (0.33, 0. 43) and luminance of 1156 cd m^-2 at 7.8 V.