Luminescent materials are used in display, lighting, photovoltaic, lasing, and sensing applications. In particular, luminescent organic materials are increasing in usage as much research and development enable them to be viable in everyday applications, albeit at a rate limited by advancements in technology. For example, polydioctylfluorene, the standard blue polymer used in many of these applications, does not possess high thermal and oxidative stability, and becomes green-emitting over time.
Researchers at the University of Alberta have developed blue light-emitting polymers that have substantially better characteristics than polydioctylfluorene. The unique polymers exhibit photoluminescence and electroluminescence; are thermally stable to over 500ºC; have glass transition temperatures at ~100ºC or higher (i.e., do not plastically deform below this temperature); and are solution-processable, enabling ease of handling and deposition. The polymers are described in Macromolecules 2009, 42,591.