Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part A: Pure and Applied Chemistry

Abstract

This article describes the synthesis and application of poly(1,4‐phenylene‐2,6‐pyridylurea) (MCPU) as a charge transporting and rare earth metal chelating host matrix for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The chelation between MCPU and Terbium (Tb3+) (the rare earth metal used in this study), is facile in nature and persists in thin films obtained by spin coating onto various substrates. Multiple polymer chelating moieties at each Tb ion site may derive from MCPU repeat units from a single polymer chain or two polymer chains, and their respective structures are proposed. The emissive properties of these films in the presence and absence of Terbium (Tb3+) were characterized by steady state UV‐VIS absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The PL emission from Tb(MCPU) films indicate contribution from both the host MCPU and the Tb ions. The incorporation of these films in OLEDs employing different device architectures yields electroluminescence spectra, which show the characteristic emission of the Tb ions but no emission from the host polymer matrix. Although these devices are not optimized, they exhibit an order of magnitude higher external quantum efficiency as compared to that of conventional aluminum tris 8‐hydroxyquinoline (Alq3) based OLEDs, at low current densities.