Anthracene derivative for a non-doped blue-emitting organic electroluminescence device with both excellent color purity and high efficiency

A new anthracene derivative 2-tert-butyl-9,10-bis-(β-naphthyl)-anthracene (TBADN) was synthesized and used as a blue light-emitting material in a non-doped organic light-emitting diode (OLED). The OLED showed efficient blue emission with excellent Commission International de L’Eclairage (CIE) coordinates (x = 0.14, y = 0.10) and a maximum current efficiency of 2.6 cd/A. Compared with the prototypical blue OLEDs based on 9,10-bis-(β-naphthyl)-anthracene, the present device showed much improved color purity and efficiency. The improved performance is due to the reduction of molecular aggregation and the change of molecular electronic state by introducing of the bulky tert-butyl group on anthracene.