Porphyrin-nitrogen carbon dot composites for high-performance organic light-emitting diodes
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Georgiopoulou, Zoi
Rizou, Maria Eleni
Verykios, Apostolos
Soultati, Anastasia
Chatzigiannakis, Georgios
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) still face major obstacles to combining high efficiency with solution processability and energy-sustainable operation. In this work, a tetra-carboxyphenyl porphyrin–nitrogen carbon dots (TCPP-NCDots) derivative is introduced as a solution-processable electron transport layer (ETL) in OLEDs based on a green–yellow emissive polymer. The structural, optical, and electronic properties of the TCPP-NCDots ETL are comprehensively characterised by ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, steady-state photoluminescence, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. These studies reveal a synergistic effect of porphyrin functionalisation on the carbon dots, which improves electron injection and transport toward the emissive layer. At an optimum concentration of 1 mg mL−1, the TCPP-NCDots ETL yields a 21.6% enhancement in external quantum efficiency compared with the reference device without an ETL, while simultaneously suppressing efficiency roll-off. The optimised devices also maintain stable operation under ambient conditions, highlighting TCPP-NCDots as a promising, sustainable ETL platform for next-generation fluorescent OLEDs.
Date Issued
2026-02-09
Date Acceptance
2026-01-02
Citation
Scientific Reports, 2026, 16
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Portfolio
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Reports
Volume
16
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
10.1038/s41598-026-35190-5
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
5507
Date Publish Online
2026-01-29