Overcoming the energy gap law in near-infrared OLEDs by exciton–vibration decoupling

The development of high-performance near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes is hindered by strong non-radiative processes as governed by the energy gap law. Here, we show that exciton delocalization, which serves to decouple the exciton band from highly vibrational ladders in the S₀ ground state, can bring substantial enhancements in the photoluminescence quantum yield of emitters, bypassing the energy gap law. Experimental proof is provided by the design and synthesis of a series of new Pt(ii) complexes with a delocalization length of 5–9 molecules that emit at 866–960 nm with a photoluminescence quantum yield of 5–12% in solid films. The corresponding near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes emit light with a 930 nm peak wavelength and a high external quantum efficiency up to 2.14% and a radiance of 41.6 W sr⁻¹m⁻². Both theoretical and experimental results confirm the exciton–vibration decoupling strategy, which should be broadly applicable to other well-aligned molecular solids.