advantages and disadvantages. OLEDs are tunnel diode devices that require the work function of the electrode materials to be matched to the HOMO-LUMO energies of the emissive material, and require reactive metals with low work functions to achieve efficient electron injection directly into the emissive polymer. [3] In contrast, the applied voltage in a LEC device initially causes the movement of the ions in the emissive layer, creating ohmic contacts that facilitate charge injection regardless of the electrode work function. [4] This unique operating mechanism enables the convenience of air-stable electrodes that can be chosen regardless of the HOMO-LUMO energies of the emissive material, and bipolar operation with a rectification ratio near unity. Because of the ohmic contacts, the operating voltage of LECs is, in principle, comparable to the HOMO-LUMO bandgap energy. The devices are more tolerant than OLEDs to the thickness and roughness of emissive layer, which can range from nanometer to micrometer scale. Despite these advantages, over the past 25 years it is the OLED that has emerged as a formidable market force in commercial lighting, ultimately becoming a pinnacle of display technology. With a well-understood operating mechanism in hand, an extensive academic research and industrial R&D community tackled the problem of the low external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) and high driving voltages of early OLEDs from a variety of different angles. These efforts increased the complexity of the device architecture by adding functional material layers to balance charge injection and transport for optimized emissive recombination (Figure 1a). The first OLED television, the Sony XEL-1, became commercially available in 2008. [5] The development of LECs, in contrast, took a very different path. Instead of increasing complexity to improve device performance, the field initially remained mired in developing an understanding of the complexities of the device operating mechanism, eventually reaching a unified operating model in 2010 that combined the sometimes contradictory electrochemical and electrodynamic operating models initially proposed. [6] As OLEDs and LECs went their separate ways, the LEC largely remained in the realm of academic research and retained the simple architecture of its inception (Figure 1b), emerging as a robust and fault-tolerant platform-a sandbox-for researchers to explore new emissive materials, electrode materials, fabrication strategies, and device operating conditions. Light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) are simple electroluminescent devices comprising an emissive material containing mobile ions sandwiched between two electrodes. The operating mechanism of the LEC involves both ionic and electronic transport, distinguishing it from its more well-known cousin, the organic light-emitting diode (OLED). While OLEDs have become a leading player in commercial displays, LECs have flourished in academic research due to the simple device architecture and unique features of its operating mechanism...
In this work, a facile and simple yet effective method to generate intrinsic autonomous self-healing polymers was developed, leading to new materials that can be easily fine-tuned both mechanically and chemically.
Fusing a membrane of one elastomer onto the surface of a second in a membraneinterface-elastomer (MINE) structure provides combined properties that a single elastomer cannot deliver. MINE structures of poly(dimethylsiloxane) and transparent butyl rubber merge their strengths to produce robust stretchable devices with a remarkable feature: the interface between the two elastomers profoundly influences metal films on the membrane surface.
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