Binary Blends of Polymer Semiconductors: Nanocrystalline Morphology Retards Energy Transfer and Facilitates Efficient White Electroluminescence

Summary: Blends of poly(9,9‐dioctylfluorene) (PFO) and poly(2‐methoxy‐5(2′‐ethyl‐hexyloxy)‐1,4‐phenylenevinylene) (MEH‐PPV) were found to phase separate into 40–50 nm crystalline PFO domains and to exhibit efficient white electroluminescence when the composition is below 30 wt.‐% MEH‐PPV. The 5 wt.‐% nanocrystalline blends had a luminance of 4 000 cd · m −2 , an external quantum efficiency of 3.1%, and a current efficiency of 3.7 cd · A −1 . Transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, and atomic force microscopy of blends with higher MEH‐PPV content and the two homopolymers showed them to be amorphous. Only orange‐red electroluminescence, characteristic of MEH‐PPV, was observed from the amorphous blends due to efficient energy transfer from PFO. These results demonstrate that energy transfer processes in binary PFO:MEH‐PPV blends and light‐emitting devices based on them can be controlled through the morphology and composition. TEM image of a PFO:MEH‐PPV blend. magnified image TEM image of a PFO:MEH‐PPV blend.