Suppressing the Thermal Quenching Effect via a Cluster Conformer in Copper(I)–Iodide Coordination Polymeric Phosphors for High-Power White LED Lighting

High-power LED lighting is a crucial challenge due to the notorious thermal quenching (TQ) effect of traditional phosphors at high operating currents, which would result in poor device performance and hamper practical optoelectronic application. Herein, we demonstrate ligand engineering of a cubane- versus staircase-like [Cu₄I₄] conformer as a node in coordination polymers, which remarkably suppresses the TQ effect of cluster-based photoluminescence. For complex 1 (the formula [Cu₄I₄(bbimb)₂]_n) with the cubane-like [Cu₄I₄] conformer as a node, the metallophilicity interaction enables ultrabright triplet emission with a photoluminescence quantum yield over 82%, and the phonon-assisted detrapping process of excitons effectively suppresses the TQ effect in the wide temperature range. In contrast, the staircase-like [Cu₄I₄] conformer as a node in complex 2 (the formula [Cu₄I₄(bbtmb)₂]_n) exhibits a serious TQ effect over the investigated temperature. Phosphor-converted white LEDs (pc-wLEDs) were fabricated by integrating the cluster-based coordination polymers as a color converter, and their electroluminescence performances were investigated under high bias currents. The prototype pc-wLED device by incorporating the phosphor with the suppressed TQ effect exhibits a continuous rise in brightness under a high bias current of 300 mA. The results demonstrate that ligand engineering of the cluster conformer via suppressing the TQ effect proves efficient in designing an ideal color converter for high-power pc-wLED lighting.