Optical properties of a novel yellow fluorescent dopant for use in organic LEDs

In this paper, the optical properties of a novel organic, 2,8-di(t-butyl)-5,11-di[4(t-butyl) phenyl]-6,12-diphenylnaphthacene (tetra(t-butyl)rubrene) have been investigated. Our results show that there are two peaks in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of tetra(t-butyl)rubrene (TBRb) which are also confirmed in the electroluminescence (EL) spectra. Photo-quenching of the PL intensity is observed when the irradiation time increases. It is shown that oxidation is the dominant reason for photo-quenching. The absolute refractive index and absorption coefficient have also been determined and the results correlate well with the PL results. The results show that TBRb can be a good dopant to achieve the Förster energy transfer and to assist light emission. The optical properties of TBRb are similar to those of rubrene; however, the PL of TBRb is much stronger than that of rubrene. Finally, although crystalline organics have been commonly reported by heating the sample, we report crystallization of TBRb at low temperature <230 K when the TBRb film is in an amorphous form before cooling.