Title:
Theoretical characterization of the charge-transport and electroluminescence properties of pi-conjugated organic materials

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Salman, Seyhan
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Brédas, Jean-Luc
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Abstract
The structural, electronic, and optical properties of a series of organic pi-conjugated polymer, oligomer, or molecular materials of interest for applications in organic electronics are described. For this purpose, quantum-chemical techniques ranging from Density Functional Theory to Hartree-Fock ab initio and semiempirical methods are used to evaluate the charge-transport, charge-transfer, and electroluminescence properties of pi-conjugated organic materials. First, the effect of electronic polarization on the charge-transport parameters of organic semiconductors is discussed. A generalized methodology based on a basis set orthogonalization procedure is developed to determine reliable charge-transport characteristics. The charge-transport parameters of a number of organic semiconductors such as oligoacenes and derivatives are studied with this methodology. Then, triplet emitters, in particular iridium complexes, that achieve high efficiency electroluminescence in organic light-emitting diodes are discussed. The effects of ligand substitution and orientation on the luminescent properties of iridium compounds are investigated in order to develop structure-properties relationships. The emission properties of these complexes are found to be governed by an interplay between metal-to-ligand charge transfer excitations and ligand-centered and/or interligand excitations. The extent of mixing of these various excitations turns out to be highly dependent on the nature of the substituents. Design strategies to shift the emission color towards deep blue are proposed. Finally, several classes of materials acting as hosts for phosphorescent emitters are studied. It is shown that restricting the conjugation length leads to high energy gap host materials suitable for blue phosphorescent emitters.
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Date Issued
2009-06-22
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Dissertation
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