Effect of film thickness controlled by ink‐jet printing method on the optical properties of an electroluminescent polymer

Abstract

AbstractInk‐jet printing (IJP) represents a highly promising liquid processed polymer deposition method for the film preparation of functional polymers in photo‐electronic devices. In this report, the results on the IJP of a fluorene‐based electroluminescent polymer, poly(9,9‐dihexylfluorene‐alt‐2,5‐dioctyloxybenzene) (PF6OC8), from a piezoelectric droplet generator are presented. The polymer film thickness has been found to show an approximate linear relation with the number of droplets per unit area; it is thus convenient to control the film thickness by the space of printed dots in IJP process. In comparison, spin coating approach is also used to prepare polymer films with different thicknesses by varying solution concentration and spinning speed. However, it is found that spin coating is difficult to control the film thickness quantitatively. The influence of film thickness on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of PF6OC8 films prepared by IJP and spin coating is comparatively investigated. For both ink‐jet printed and spin coated films, the intensity of PL spectra first increases and then decreases with increase in the film thickness, probably due to the exciton quenching in thicker films. When the polymer film thickness is at nanoscale, the major peak in the PL spectrum is the 0–0 vibronic emission at about 420 nm, and with increase in the film thickness, the 0–1 vibronic peak at about 440 nm becomes dominant. The red‐shifted PL spectra with increase in film thickness show the change from the 2D exciton state to the 3D one. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.