Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Luminescent Self-Assembled Materials of Copper(I)

Over the past decade, we have seen the rapid advancement in the technology of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) toward practical applications. The high color contrast, wide viewing angles, good flexibility, and low power consumption of OLEDs have rendered them promising candidates for next-generation displays and solid-state lighting applications. Parallel to the optimization in device structures, of equal importance is the search for new classes of emitters. While conventional OLEDs mainly rely on triplet emitters based on precious metal complexes, such as those of platinum(II) and iridium(III), copper(I) self-assembled materials represent attractive alternatives with relatively low cost but comparable emission tunability. In this mini review, the recent progress in the development of copper(I) self-assembled materials, including copper(I) clusters and coordination polymers, as electroluminescent materials in OLEDs will be discussed.