Work-Function Engineering of Graphene Anode by Bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide Doping for Efficient Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes

Abstract

Graphene has been considered to be a potential alternative transparent and flexible electrode for replacing commercially available indium tin oxide (ITO) anode. However, the relatively high sheet resistance and low work function of graphene compared with ITO limit the application of graphene as an anode for organic or polymer light-emitting diodes (OLEDs or PLEDs). Here, flexible PLEDs made by using bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide (TFSA, [CF3SO2](2)NH) doped graphene anodes are demonstrated to have low sheet resistance and high work function. The graphene is easily doped with TFSA by means of a simple spin-coating process. After TFSA doping, the sheet resistance of the TFSA-doped five-layer graphene, with optical transmittance of approximate to 88%, is as low as approximate to 90 sq(-1). The maximum current efficiency and power efficiency of the PLED fabricated on the TFSA-doped graphene anode are 9.6 cd A(-1) and 10.5 lm W-1, respectively; these values are markedly higher than those of the PLED fabricated on pristine graphene anode and comparable to those of an ITO anode.