Design, Synthesis, and Exploitation of Thermally Cross-Linkable Charge Transporting Materials

The overall theme of this dissertation is to examine thermally cross-linkable charge transporting materials for their potential use in solution-processable organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and solar cells. In order to overcome the interfacial mixing problem, the approach is the use of an organic-soluble precursor that becomes insoluble through crosslinking reaction. Low temperature-curing styrene is moe attractive for long-term application. Styryl moiety has the advantages because it is easier to be synthesized and can undergo mild thermal polymerization in the absence of an initiator. With such a concept, the design and synthesis of various functional materials including thermally crosslinkable hole injection materials (HIMs) and/or hole-transport materials (HTMs), high-triplet-energy hole-transport materials, hole-transporting–type host materials, and electron transport materials (ETMs) were systematically performed.