Use of ionomer as an electron injecting and hole blocking material for polymer light-emitting diode

Light-emitting diodes of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV) are fabricated using sodium sulfonated polystyrene (SSPS) ionomer containing 10 mol% ionic groups as an electron injecting and hole blocking material. When an electric field stronger than 2.7 x 10(7) V/m is applied. SSPS in the indium-tin oxide ITO/MEH-PPV/SSPS/Al system causes a bridging effect between sodium ions and the Al cathode at the SSPS/Al interface, leading to excellent electron injection. Furthermore, the ionomer has a high band gap energy of similar to 5 eV, resulting in hole blocking. The operating voltage for the ITO/MEH-PPV/SSPS/Al is reduced by similar to 60% and the relative quantum efficiency is enhanced by three orders of magnitude compared with those of the corresponding single-layer MEH-PPV device. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)03319-1].