On the origin of excimer emission in electroluminescence and photoluminescence spectra of polyfluorenes

We report a study on the differences in red-shifted excimer band in photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) spectra of thin films of a copolymer of dibutylfluorene and butylphenylphenoxazine. The relative intensity of the excimer band in PL spectra increases with temperature above the polymer glass transition, and with the intensity of the excitation light. In EL spectra, on the other hand, the relative excimer intensity is seen to decrease with increasing driving voltage. These opposite trends originate from the different nature of excitations in PL and EL spectra: photoexcitation directly creates singlet excitons while electric excitation proceeds via interaction of injected electrons and holes. In case of electric excitation, the observed results might be due to trap-assisted excimer formation.