Synthesis of dendrimers and polymers for solution processed organic light emitting diodes

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been a major area of research over the last 15 years, due in part to their potential use in practical applications and emerging technologies, and in the realm of organic chemistry, the fact that chemical structure modifications can have a great impact on the final properties of a device. The emphasis in current research generally tends to focus on a few areas. One of these areas is the manipulation of the spectral output of the device, in the control of color for display technology, or even white light for display backlights or indoor lighting applications. Another area is device performance, which strives for efficient production of light, whether it is for extended battery life in portable devices, or for reduced energy consumption in the lighting of large buildings. The two main technologies that exist in the fabrication of organic light emitting diodes are high vacuum deposition of small molecules or the use of soluble materials (dendrimers, polymers, and emitting moieties) in solution processing. While the purity and environmental control in high vacuum deposition of small molecules has led to very efficient devices and may be well suited for some applications, the use of solution processing is seen as a cost and production advantage, especially in large scale manufacturing, or in the fabrication of large area devices, as well as the ability to be used in use ink-jet printing technology to create micro-patterned arrays. In continuing the effort towards the synthesis of materials for solution processed OLEDs, this dissertation describes the use of dendrimers and polymers that address both the aspects of color tuning and high efficiency. While the fist part is a fundamental study of the synthesis of dendrimers and how the their architecture influences OLEDs, the second part details the use of efficient platinum and iridium complexes in more easily synthesized linear polymers, for highly efficient color and white light emitting diodes. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...