Efficient non-doped cluster light-emitting diodes based on semiconducting copper iodide hybrids

Copper iodide hybrid clusters have attracted lots of interest in solution-processed light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for solid-state lighting and display in recent years, benefiting from their simple synthesis, structural diversity, high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), and non-toxicity. However, most efficient copper iodide cluster LEDs are made by host-guest doped emitters and thus suffer from cumbersome synthesis and increased costs from the expensive hosts. Here, we report a non-doped cluster LED based on a novel copper iodine hybrid [35DPPy]4Cu2I2 (35DPPy: 3,5-diphenylpyridine) with high PLQY and decent charge transport characteristic. The non-doped [35DPPy]4Cu2I2 film synthesized by a one-step spin-coating approach possess the flat and compact morphology, high PLQY of 59.6%, and excellent heat/ultraviolet (UV) light/moisture/oxygen stability. The efficient green PL of [35DPPy]4Cu2I2 is proved to originate from the synergistic contribution from thermally activated delayed fluorescence and phosphorescence. A non-doped green LED based on [35DPPy]4Cu2I2 emitters is fabricated, achieving a peak external quantum efficiency of 4.8% and a maximum luminance of 3895 cd/m2. More importantly, large-area LEDs with an emitting area of 4.00 cm2 are realized with homogeneous and bright electroluminescence, showing their attractive potentials as novel electroluminescent emitters in the application of non-doped cluster LEDs.