Unravelling the Electrical Field Induced Ion Migration in Flexible OLEDs with PEDOT:PSS Electrodes

The development of flexible organic light-emitting didoes (FOLEDs) has spurred the research on flexible transparent electrodes (FTEs). Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is one of the most attractive FTEs due to its adjustable conductivity and compatibility with low-cost and large-scale solution processing techniques. Significantly, highly efficient FOLEDs have been achieved with modified PEDOT:PSS FTEs. However, the intrinsic mechanisms that contribute to device degradation of FOLEDs utilizing PEDOT:PSS FTEs have not yet been fully elucidated. In this work, three ionic liquids (ILs) are used to enhance the electrical conductivity and mechanical flexibility of PEDOT:PSS FTEs. Simultaneously, the influence of the electric field induced ion migration from PEDOT:PSS FTEs on the operational stability of FOLEDs is unraveled. We find that the ILs with larger ionic radii and higher steric hindrance are beneficial to suppressing the electrical field induced ion migration and improving the operational stability of FOLEDs. Finally, large-area and high-performance FOLEDs are achieved based on the IL of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide modified PEDOT:PSS FTEs, which demonstrate a high current efficiency of 98.1 cd/A and a longer lifetime of 66.7 min. This finding may promote the practical application of PEDOT:PSS FTEs in flexible optoelectronics.