Orientation distributions of vacuum-deposited organic emitters revealed by single-molecule microscopy
Abstract The orientation of luminescent molecules in organic light-emitting diodes strongly influences device performance. However, our understanding of the factors controlling emitter orientation is limited as current measurements only provide ensemble-averaged orientation values. Here, we use sing...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41841-2 |
| _version_ | 1827709605501730816 |
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| author | Francisco Tenopala-Carmona Dirk Hertel Sabina Hillebrandt Andreas Mischok Arko Graf Philipp Weitkamp Klaus Meerholz Malte C. Gather |
| author_facet | Francisco Tenopala-Carmona Dirk Hertel Sabina Hillebrandt Andreas Mischok Arko Graf Philipp Weitkamp Klaus Meerholz Malte C. Gather |
| author_sort | Francisco Tenopala-Carmona |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The orientation of luminescent molecules in organic light-emitting diodes strongly influences device performance. However, our understanding of the factors controlling emitter orientation is limited as current measurements only provide ensemble-averaged orientation values. Here, we use single-molecule imaging to measure the transition dipole orientation of individual emitter molecules in a state-of-the-art thermally evaporated host and thereby obtain complete orientation distributions of the hyperfluorescence-terminal emitter C545T. We achieve this by realizing ultra-low doping concentrations (10−6 wt%) of C545T and minimising background levels to reliably measure its photoluminescence. This approach yields the orientation distributions of >1000 individual emitter molecules in a system relevant to vacuum-processed devices. Analysis of solution- and vacuum-processed systems reveals that the orientation distributions strongly depend on the nanoscale environment of the emitter. This work opens the door to attaining unprecedented information on the factors that determine emitter orientation in current and future material systems for organic light-emitting devices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:25:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-57b175cb7e7241d6acbf68ef1415f8f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:25:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-57b175cb7e7241d6acbf68ef1415f8f02023-11-20T10:12:27ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-10-0114111010.1038/s41467-023-41841-2Orientation distributions of vacuum-deposited organic emitters revealed by single-molecule microscopyFrancisco Tenopala-Carmona0Dirk Hertel1Sabina Hillebrandt2Andreas Mischok3Arko Graf4Philipp Weitkamp5Klaus Meerholz6Malte C. Gather7Humboldt Centre for Nano- and Biophotonics and Institute of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of CologneHumboldt Centre for Nano- and Biophotonics and Institute of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of CologneHumboldt Centre for Nano- and Biophotonics and Institute of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of CologneHumboldt Centre for Nano- and Biophotonics and Institute of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of CologneOrganic Semiconductor Centre, SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St AndrewsHumboldt Centre for Nano- and Biophotonics and Institute of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of CologneHumboldt Centre for Nano- and Biophotonics and Institute of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of CologneHumboldt Centre for Nano- and Biophotonics and Institute of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of CologneAbstract The orientation of luminescent molecules in organic light-emitting diodes strongly influences device performance. However, our understanding of the factors controlling emitter orientation is limited as current measurements only provide ensemble-averaged orientation values. Here, we use single-molecule imaging to measure the transition dipole orientation of individual emitter molecules in a state-of-the-art thermally evaporated host and thereby obtain complete orientation distributions of the hyperfluorescence-terminal emitter C545T. We achieve this by realizing ultra-low doping concentrations (10−6 wt%) of C545T and minimising background levels to reliably measure its photoluminescence. This approach yields the orientation distributions of >1000 individual emitter molecules in a system relevant to vacuum-processed devices. Analysis of solution- and vacuum-processed systems reveals that the orientation distributions strongly depend on the nanoscale environment of the emitter. This work opens the door to attaining unprecedented information on the factors that determine emitter orientation in current and future material systems for organic light-emitting devices.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41841-2 |
| spellingShingle | Francisco Tenopala-Carmona Dirk Hertel Sabina Hillebrandt Andreas Mischok Arko Graf Philipp Weitkamp Klaus Meerholz Malte C. Gather Orientation distributions of vacuum-deposited organic emitters revealed by single-molecule microscopy Nature Communications |
| title | Orientation distributions of vacuum-deposited organic emitters revealed by single-molecule microscopy |
| title_full | Orientation distributions of vacuum-deposited organic emitters revealed by single-molecule microscopy |
| title_fullStr | Orientation distributions of vacuum-deposited organic emitters revealed by single-molecule microscopy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Orientation distributions of vacuum-deposited organic emitters revealed by single-molecule microscopy |
| title_short | Orientation distributions of vacuum-deposited organic emitters revealed by single-molecule microscopy |
| title_sort | orientation distributions of vacuum deposited organic emitters revealed by single molecule microscopy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41841-2 |
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