Efficient, fast response light-emitting electrochemical cells: Electroluminescent and solid electrolyte polymers with interpenetrating network morphology

Abstract

The device performance of light-emitting electrochemical cells is improved by adding a bifunctional liquid additive into the light-emitting layer. Because of the surfactant-like character of the additive, the light-emitting layer exhibits a high surface area bicontinuous three-dimensional network morphology. The semiconducting polymer forms a continuous network phase enabling electronic transport of injected electron and holes: the electrolyte forms a continuous network phase enabling fast ion transport; the nm length scale of the phase separated network enables rapid, effective transport of the ions into the conducting polymer during electrochemical doping.