Square-Planar Metal Complex Dopants for Hole Transport Layers

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Solution Overview

Problem

There is a need for cost-effective dopants for hole transport layers in organic electronic components, as existing solutions are either expensive or inefficient.

Innovation Solution

The use of square-planar mononuclear transition metal complexes, such as copper, palladium, platinum, or nickel complexes, as dopants in hole conductor materials, which enhance conductivity by forming a hole-conducting matrix with specific ligands and substituents, allowing for efficient doping and improved film-forming properties.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional dopants are used for hole transport layers, then doping effect is achieved, but production costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedoping effectVSAvoidproduction cost
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces expensive conventional dopants with inexpensive square-planar transition metal complexes. These metal complexes provide effective doping at low cost, directly addressing the contradiction between achieving reliable doping effects and reducing production costs in organic electronic components

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the chemical parameters of the dopant by using transition metal complexes with specific square-planar geometry and particular ligand configurations. This parameter change enables cost-effective doping while maintaining or improving the doping effect in hole transport layers

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If existing dopants are used, then conductivity enhancement is achieved, but efficiency is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconductivity enhancementVSAvoiddoping efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces dopants with specific local structural qualities - square-planar transition metal complexes with particular ligand arrangements. This local quality optimization enhances the doping efficiency and conductivity enhancement effect, addressing the insufficiency of existing dopants

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a composite system by combining hole transport materials with square-planar transition metal complexes. This composite approach achieves superior conductivity enhancement and doping efficiency compared to using conventional dopants alone

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

These dopants significantly increase the conductivity of hole transport layers, enabling better charge carrier injection and emission characteristics in organic electronic components like OLEDs and OLEECs, with the potential for reduced production costs and improved performance.

Implementation Method 1

Doping organic materials with electron acceptors to increase the conductivity of hole conductor layers has been demonstrated many times in the literature

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCharge transfer complex formation:

Data Source

PatentEP2553047B1Dopant for a hole conductor layer for organic semiconductor components, and use thereof
Publication Date: 2016.12.21 OSRAM OLED
  • EP2553047B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2553047B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2553047B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

The invention relates to novel metal-organic materials for hole injection layers in organic electronic components, in particular in light-emitting components such as organic light diodes (OLED) or organic light-emitting electrochemical cells (OLEEC) or organic field effect transistors or organic solar cells or organic photo detectors. Luminescence (cd/m2), efficiency (cd/A), and service life (h) of organic electronic components such as from organic light diodes (fig. 1) in particular are highly dependent on the exciton thickness in the light-emitting layer and on the quality of the charge carrier injection and are also limited by same, among other things. Said invention relates to a hole injection layer consisting of quadratic planar mononuclear transition metal complexes such as copper 2+ complexes, for example, which are embedded into a hole-conducting matrix.