Ion transfer into solution-processed electrodes can significantly shift the p–n junction and emission efficiency of light-emitting electrochemical cells

A light-emitting electrochemical cell (LEC) comprises mobile ions in its active material, which enable for in situ formation of a p–n junction by electrochemical doping. The position of this emissive p–n junction in the interelectrode gap is important, because it determines whether the emission is affected by constructive or destructive interference. An appealing LEC feature is that the entire device can be fabricated by low-cost solution-based printing and coating. Here, we show, somewhat unexpectedly, that the replacement of conventional vacuum-deposited indium-tin-oxide (ITO) for the positive anode with solution-processed poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene-sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) can result in an increase in the peak light-emission output by 75%. We demonstrate that this emission increase is due to that the p–n junction shifts from a position of destructive interference in the center of the interelectrode gap with ITO to a position of constructive interference closer to the anode with PEDOT:PSS. We rationalize the anodic p–n junction shift by significant anion transfer into the soft and porous PEDOT:PSS electrode during LEC operation, which is prohibited for the ITO electrode because of its compact and hard nature. Our study, thus, contributes with important design criteria for the attainment of efficient light emission from solution-processed LEC devices.