Thermal control of near-infrared and visible electroluminescence in alkyl-phenyl substituted polythiophenes

We report electroluminescence from a regioregular alkyl-phenyl substituted polythiophene. The polymer film exists in two forms, giving widely different optical absorption, as well as photoluminescence and electroluminescence spectra. In the low-bandgap form, we observe high emission intensity centered at 1.55 eV (800 nm), well into the infrared, while the high-bandgap form gives a maximum at 1.85 eV (670 nm). The conversion from the high-bandgap form to the low-bandgap form can be done by thermal treatment of the polymer light emitting diodes.