Soongsil University team develops polymer material to boost PeLED efficiency and lifespan

Soongsil University announced Thursday that a joint research team led by Kang Beom-gu, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and Park Min-ho, a professor in the Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, has developed a polymer material for a hole transport layer (HTL) that can simultaneously improve the efficiency and lifespan of solution-processed perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLED).

The findings were published online in the European Polymer Journal, an international academic journal in the field of polymer science.

A PeLED is a next-generation display device that uses a semiconductor material called perovskite as its light-emitting layer. It offers vivid color reproduction and allows the emission wavelength to be tuned by adjusting the composition of the perovskite.

The research team developed a new material incorporating a triphenylamine structure — known for its hole-transporting properties — into the side chains of a polymer. The resulting polymer demonstrated strong resistance to heat and solvents.

When applied to actual devices, performance improved, with both external quantum efficiency (EQE) and current efficiency rising significantly.

"We plan to focus on developing materials for high-efficiency, high-stability next-generation light-emitting devices by more precisely controlling the molecular structure and energy levels of hole-transporting polymers," Kang said.

Kim Jun-mo and Lee Ye-ji served as co-first authors on the study under the supervision of Kang and Park. The research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea through its Basic Research Laboratory support project (G-LAMP), the University-Focused Research Institute support project, and the MoaFab facility utilization support project.