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Approaching-unity PLQY and high stretchability in polymer emitters via molecular spacers

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Stretchable organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) hold great promise for wearable displays and optical biointerfaces, yet progress is hindered by the intrinsic trade-off between mechanical stretchability and high emission efficiency. Here, we present a broadly applicable strategy to enhance both stretchability and light-emitting performance in thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) polymers through the incorporation of optoelectronically inert small-molecule plasticizers. Using dioctyl phthalate (DOP) as a model additive, we show that plasticizers function as molecular spacers, expanding free volume to suppress triplet exciton quenching while facilitating stress-dissipative chain mobility. The resulting composites achieve approaching-unity photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), stretchability beyond 110% strain, and improved electroluminescent efficiency, with external quantum efficiency (EQE), reaching 12.6% in rigid devices and 3.05% in fully stretchable OLEDs. This strategy is effective across a range of TADF polymers, demonstrating plasticizer engineering as a simple, scalable design principle for intrinsically stretchable optoelectronic materials. Overcoming the tradeoff between mechanical stretchability and emitting efficiency for stretchable organic light emitting diodes (OLED) is a challenge. Here, the authors use small-molecule plasticizers as molecular spacers in TADF polymers, enabling approaching-unity PLQY and improved efficiency in stretchable OLEDs.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-73223-9
Authors: Glingna Wang, Wei Liu, Zhiming Zhang, Cheng Zhang, Benjamin T. Diroll, Naisong Shan, Yang Li, Mohammed Syed Nurul Azam Azmir, Xiaodan Gu, Sihong Wang
Language: English
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health, Office of Science, Division of Materials Research, Basic Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Awards: G102163711, G1229526393, G1286251239, G2287611682, Immunocompatible electronic polymers and devices for implantable sensors and stimulators that resist foreign-body responses, G2371548206, G262532246, G262962599, G303061748, G3589692066, G4235786860, G4269941704, G4654690619, G495301720, G498139845, G513797252, G5387317844, G5570207115, G5607048534, G6550344761, CAREER: Thermomechanical Property Control of Confined Conjugated Polymeric Thin Films, G6671297155, G6848031779, G6918803902, G7283024673, CAREER: Stretchable Light-Emitting Polymers with Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence, G7583137537, G7807246710, G8382000481, G8925327636, G911061179, G969889393, G993149817
OpenAlex ID: W7162083073
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