tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/oleds-28369/articlesOLEDs – The Conversation2017-08-23T19:25:29Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/823742017-08-23T19:25:29Z2017-08-23T19:25:29ZFrom flatscreen TVs to your smartphone: the element boron deserves more attention<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182385/original/file-20170817-13456-yxzar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Boron is often ignored, but it's got a lot of important qualities.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/david44149/14002811915/in/photolist-6nyvxh-awXnMC-duL3Zq-c6E7ef-c6E825-c6E7nC-8sZN1w-2DLgBv-bx8ddc-bmMReq-c6E78w-b7iMzt-nko58D-hucmVJ-99RxeL-8zABdh-8zxskk-7o8Kcr-8zxsoZ-AFyjqN-4qkZcg-99Rxfo-8zAB3Q-x7Hxws">David Ellis/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each time you watch sport on a flatscreen television, or send a message by touching your smartphone screen, give thanks to an unsung hero of the periodic table: boron.</p>
<p>Boron, often wrongly labelled a “boring” element, plays a versatile role in our lives. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-periodic-table-from-its-classic-design-to-use-in-popular-culture-52822">The periodic table: from its classic design to use in popular culture</a>
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<p>It’s the key ingredient in borosilicate glass, which is known for its exceptional resistance to thermal change and chemicals, and its ability to withstand impact. This means glass cookware can go into a hot oven straight from the freezer, and that lab equipment such as beakers and test tubes can withstand corrosion.</p>
<p>Neodymium magnets, in which boron plays a role in the formation of the crystal structure and retaining magnetisation, are among the strongest permanent magnets commercially available. Boron is also used to prepare detergents, buffer solution, insecticides, insulation and semiconductors.</p>
<p>Australia’s soils can be <a href="http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/158864/boron-deficiency-pastures-field-crops.pdf">deficient in boron</a>, and boron-containing fertiliser is used to help with root growth and flowering.</p>
<p>Although I research boron chemistry for energy conversion and storage, the element has a rich history with many practical applications.</p>
<h2>What makes boron so special?</h2>
<p>Due to its reactivity, boron naturally exists only in combination with other elements, forming boric acid and inorganic salts known as borates. </p>
<p>One key reason why boron is so versatile is its electron-deficient nature, which means it’s very inclined to accept electrons from other elements and easily forms many interesting compounds with both metals and non-metals.</p>
<p>For example, metal borides, compounds formed between metal (M) and boron (B), such as rhenium diboride, have high hardness due to extensive B-B and M-B bonds. There’s also boron carbide, which is an extremely hard and light ceramic used in bullet proof vests and tank armour.</p>
<p>Boron-10 (10B), <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5296588/">a stable isotope</a> that can be isolated by extensive distillation of volatile boron compounds, has led to Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110304091901.htm">that treats</a> locally invasive malignant tumours, such as recurrent head and neck cancer.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182734/original/file-20170821-27160-7mpjkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182734/original/file-20170821-27160-7mpjkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182734/original/file-20170821-27160-7mpjkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182734/original/file-20170821-27160-7mpjkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182734/original/file-20170821-27160-7mpjkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182734/original/file-20170821-27160-7mpjkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182734/original/file-20170821-27160-7mpjkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=744&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A Boron Neutron Capture Therapy ADAM Injector with (L to R) Enrique Henestroza, Joe Kwan and Lou Reginato that constructed a proton accelerator that will be a key element in new brain cancer treatment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/berkeleylab/3525773210/in/photolist-6nyvxh-awXnMC-duL3Zq-c6E7ef-c6E825-c6E7nC-8sZN1w-2DLgBv-hucmVJ-bx8ddc-bmMReq-c6E78w-99RxeL-AFyjqN-b7iMzt-nko58D-8zABdh-8zxskk-7o8Kcr-8zxsoZ-4qkZcg-99Rxfo-8zAB3Q-x7Hxws">Berkeley Lab</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>Notably, the Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1976/press.html">at least</a> <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1979/">three times</a> to scientists working in the field of boron chemistry. </p>
<p>One recent contribution is the “Suzuki Coupling” reaction in 2010, <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2010/">which revolutionised</a> chemical synthesis and supports product developments such as Organic Light Emitting Display (OLED), which can be used for thin, colourful TVs.</p>
<h2>Boron versus carbon</h2>
<p>Boron and carbon are neighbouring elements in the periodic table and are similar in many ways. Carbon has arguably enjoyed greater publicity, however. Most recently, a lot of attention has been paid <a href="https://theconversation.com/harder-than-diamond-stronger-than-steel-super-conductor-graphenes-unreal-5123">to graphene</a> – one atomic layer of carbon atoms – which has many potential high-tech uses.</p>
<p>Similar to hydrocarbons, boron forms a series of neutral boranes that were once studied as rocket fuel because they produce an enormous amount of energy when reacting with oxygen. But they often proved toxic and too difficult to control.</p>
<p>Elemental boron exists <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=FA7VAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT268&lpg=PT268&dq=boron+16+allotropes&source=bl&ots=XBVva5OMx_&sig=Z_tOoLzt1vkwIvye7wwqQ3ByhHE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz_YG_xOzVAhVJNJQKHbQ7CScQ6AEIWzAJ#v=onepage&q=boron%2016%20allotropes&f=false">in 16 known</a> “allotropes” – different forms of the same element. Carbon has two common ones: diamond and graphite.</p>
<p>The difficulty in controlling the formation of desired boron allotropes slows down research. In contrast, carbon materials can be easily prepared and studied. </p>
<h2>A pivotal role in energy conversion and storage</h2>
<p>It is exciting to see scientists around the globe beavering away in labs, finding new ways to use this plucky little element.</p>
<p>Here are some of the big questions they’re tackling:</p>
<p><strong>1. Boron as a source of energy</strong></p>
<p>Some researchers are examining whether we can get energy from boron using <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/tarditi_aneutronic_fusion.html">aneutronic fusion</a> – a form of fusion power in which negligible amounts of neutrons are released.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182735/original/file-20170821-27189-1uni6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182735/original/file-20170821-27189-1uni6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182735/original/file-20170821-27189-1uni6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182735/original/file-20170821-27189-1uni6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182735/original/file-20170821-27189-1uni6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182735/original/file-20170821-27189-1uni6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/182735/original/file-20170821-27189-1uni6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Boron.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jcburns/20423064426/in/photolist-6nyvxh-awXnMC-duL3Zq-c6E7ef-c6E825-c6E7nC-8sZN1w-2DLgBv-hucmVJ-bx8ddc-bmMReq-c6E78w-99RxeL-AFyjqN-b7iMzt-nko58D-8zABdh-8zxskk-7o8Kcr-8zxsoZ-4qkZcg-99Rxfo-8zAB3Q-x7Hxws">J.C. Burns</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p><strong>2. Boron as an energy carrier</strong></p>
<p>Compounds containing boron, nitrogen and hydrogen can effectively store and transfer hydrogen. This is important because hydrogen is an ideal candidate <a href="http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/ee/c2ee23039a/unauth#!divRelatedContent&articles">to store energy</a> produced by wind farm and solar plants. </p>
<p>Sodium difluoro (oxalato) borate, on the other hand, can outperform some commercial compounds as an electrolyte salt for emerging sodium-ion batteries, which could be <a href="http://www.boronmolecular.com/Na-ionBatteryElectrolytes">a great candidate</a> for large-scale energy storage.</p>
<p><strong>3. Boron for heat conservation</strong></p>
<p>Some solar water heating and solar power generation plants are using borosilicate collector tubes to harness reflected radiation from mirrors, so the steam turbines can be driven in a more efficient way. </p>
<p>We have also seen more stringent building standards with respect to heat conservation, promoting the use of borates for fiberglass insulation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-search-for-new-elements-on-the-periodic-table-started-with-a-blast-52862">The search for new elements on the periodic table started with a blast</a>
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<p>Impressed? </p>
<p>Should boron get more of the spotlight?</p>
<p>I’m sure we will see boron continue to be a star in our tech-driven society. From fertiliser to OLED screens, it’s poised to have a big impact.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82374/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zhenguo Huang receives funding from Australian Research Council and U.S. Borax. </span></em></p>Boron is the hidden ingredient in a lot of our technology. Get to know this plucky little element.Zhenguo Huang, Senior Research Fellow in Energy, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/632872016-10-10T11:22:13Z2016-10-10T11:22:13ZThree ways organic electronics is changing technology as we know it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139765/original/image-20160929-27037-1ckn6ew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.ntech.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/press/press_for_media/ScienceAdvances20160415/index.html">Someya Laboratory/University of Tokyo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One day, your latest gadget won’t be in your pocket like a phone or even wrapped around your wrist like a smartwatch, but stuck to your skin like a transparent plaster. Researchers at the University of Tokyo are the latest group to attempt to make this kind of “<a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/4/e1501856">optoelectronic skin</a>”, with an ultra-thin, flexible LED display that can be worn on the back of your hand.</p>
<p>What makes this possible is the field of “organic electronics”, which can also be used to create a range of technologies from printed solar cells to computer screens you can roll up and put in your pocket. The name comes from the use of “organic” semiconductors, which are made with materials based on carbon rather than silicon as in conventional electronics. And while optoelectronic skins are still being developed – organic electronics are already changing the technology we buy.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139766/original/image-20160929-27037-tivd4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139766/original/image-20160929-27037-tivd4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139766/original/image-20160929-27037-tivd4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139766/original/image-20160929-27037-tivd4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139766/original/image-20160929-27037-tivd4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139766/original/image-20160929-27037-tivd4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139766/original/image-20160929-27037-tivd4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Tokyo’s ultraflexible organic optical sensor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Someya Laboratory/University of Tokyo</span></span>
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<p>Organic semiconductor materials typically come in two forms: as a small molecule consisting of a few tens or hundreds of atoms, or as long chains of thousands of repeating molecules (a plastic). The latter is particularly interesting, because we don’t normally think of plastics as conductors of electricity. But during the 1970s <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2000/popular.html">researchers realised</a> they could make some plastics act as conductors, and some as semiconductors (which conduct electricity only under certain conditions).</p>
<p>For many years the electrical performance of semiconducting plastics and small molecules has lagged behind the inorganic (non-carbon based) semiconductors that underlie many of our modern computer chips. But thanks to <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201304346/full">continued research and development</a> there are now organic semiconductors with good enough performance that they are starting to be commercialised in new and exciting applications.</p>
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<p>The chemistry of organic semiconductors can be modified in ways that are impossible with materials such as silicon. Organic semiconductors can be made to be soluble, and can be turned into an ink. This means it’s possible to print electronic circuits, with the potential to manufacture components as fast as printing newspapers. And because they’re based on plastic materials, these circuits can also be made flexible and so no longer need to sit inside rigid boxes.</p>
<p>Here are three ways organic electronics are already altering the way we use technology.</p>
<h2>Flexible lights</h2>
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<p>Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are the big success story of organic electronics so far, and you may already use them as part of OLED displays in some high-end TVs and smartphones. They are now being considered as a new way to light homes. OLEDs are effectively a sandwich of one or more organic semiconductors in between layers that allow different electrical charges into the semiconductor. As charges meet in the middle of the sandwich, <a href="http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-oleds-and-leps-work.html">they combine together to give out light</a>.</p>
<p>Unlike inorganic light-emitting diodes, an OLED light can be made on large plastic sheets. This means you could use OLEDs as flexible light-emitting surfaces to create <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-get-ready-to-say-goodbye-to-the-humble-lightbulb-57404">new ways of lighting rooms</a>, that aren’t reliant on point sources such as bulbs.</p>
<h2>Flexible displays</h2>
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<p>Another application for OLEDs are in displays. They are particularly popular with TV manufacturers because they generate light directly and so don’t need the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCD_television#Building_a_display">white backlight and filters</a> that are found in other technologies, meaning the overall display can be thinner. They also open the possibility of making flexible displays and several electronics manufacturers are expected to <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-07/samsung-said-to-consider-phones-with-bendable-screens-for-2017-ip4tgwz9">launch bendable products</a> in the next few years, although this is <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-flexible-computer-screens-taking-so-long-to-develop-53143">not without its challenges</a>.</p>
<p>Flexible displays rely upon electronic switches known as transistors. These <a href="http://web.mit.edu/%7Ejoyp/Public/OFET%20Term%20Paper.pdf">organic field-effect transistors</a> (OFETs) are also made from organic semiconductors. Behind each OLED pixel in the display is an OFET, ready to turn it on and off as required. OFETs work by having three electrical connections: the gate, source and drain. A voltage applied to the gate makes the semiconductor either more or less conductive. This either allows or prevents electrical current from flowing between the source and drain.</p>
<h2>Printed solar cells</h2>
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<p>Just as organic electronics can be used to generate light, they can also convert light into electricity when used in solar panels. Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have a very <a href="http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/materials-science/organic-electronics/opv-tutorial.html">similar structure</a> to OLEDs and can do the same job as the silicon-based solar panels already used across the world. The key difference is that they can be made rapidly on thin plastic sheets using established printing processes. As well as reducing manufacturing costs, this means you could stick them to virtually <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-trillions-of-tiny-solar-panels-could-power-the-internet-of-things-50023">any surface or object</a> for a ready-made source of power.</p>
<p>Although organic photovoltaics aren’t currently as efficient at generating electricity as conventional solar panels, their performance has been steadily increasing <a href="http://www.nrel.gov/ncpv/images/efficiency_chart.jpg">over the past decade</a>. However there are still <a href="http://www.energy.gov/eere/sunshot/organic-photovoltaics-research">significant research</a> <a href="https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/research/ourportfolio/researchareas/solartech/">efforts</a> and there are a number of companies <a href="http://www.heliatek.com/en/">already developing</a> <a href="https://www.infinitypv.com/">and selling</a> panels.</p>
<p>While these advances are already happening, there is a far wider range of potential uses for organic electronics. From the University of Tokyo’s electronic plasters for health monitoring to <a href="http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2014/cs/c3cs60235d">biodegradable gadgets</a>, these materials promise an exciting future of new technologies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63287/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Higgins currently researches materials for innovative biomedical interfaces, work funded by the ERC.
He previously worked on the joint academic/industry project 'Security tags Enabled by near field Communications United with Robust Electronics' (SECURE), funded by Innovate UK. His PhD in the field of plastic electronics was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). He has previously collaborated with companies FlexEnable Ltd and VTT.</span></em></p>Flexible plastic electronics are already altering the world around us.Stuart Higgins, Research Associate, Imperial College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/574042016-06-13T13:28:10Z2016-06-13T13:28:10ZWhy you should get ready to say goodbye to the humble lightbulb<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126293/original/image-20160613-29205-1gffexx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Bath</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Lightbulbs are disappearing. The traditional incandescent bulbs that revolutionised daily life in the 20th century have largely already gone and the energy efficient fluorescent bulbs that replaced them are now also on their way out. In their place, we now have highly efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs), which are small semiconductor devices that produce light when an electric current is passed through them.</p>
<p>But even these are often arranged in a device that looks something like a conventional lightbulb. The technology that comes next could do away with the concept of rooms having a single light source and instead build light into ceilings and walls. This new type of organic LED (OLED) will redefine how we think about lighting.</p>
<p>OLEDs are not bulbs but films of layered organic semiconductors, meaning that they are made from carbon and hydrogen, just like organic life. There are <a href="http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/materials-science/material-science-products.html?TablePage=19353440">two main families</a> of OLED: those based on small molecules and those employing polymers. Organic LEDs aren’t connected to organic food or farming but they are very efficient and do not contain toxic metals, such as mercury, so they are a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369702112701396">green technology</a>.</p>
<p>Conventional LEDs produce sharp points of light and cannot produce white light so LED bulbs usually mix different colours to approximate natural light but often do so with a blue tinge. In contrast, OLEDs emit a soft, diffuse light that’s colour can be tuned to mimic natural light as closely as the old incandescent lamps. The technology provides fast switch-on times, wide operating temperatures and no noise. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126297/original/image-20160613-29238-13yynom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126297/original/image-20160613-29238-13yynom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126297/original/image-20160613-29238-13yynom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126297/original/image-20160613-29238-13yynom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126297/original/image-20160613-29238-13yynom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126297/original/image-20160613-29238-13yynom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126297/original/image-20160613-29238-13yynom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Alison Walker and colleague Enrico Da Como experimenting with OLED panels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Bath</span></span>
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<p>But perhaps the most interesting thing about OLEDs is that the films they are made from are just 0.3mm wide and can be moulded into flexible, transparent lighting panels and twisted into different shapes. This means OLED lights won’t just be small fittings placed in the middle of a ceiling. Instead, they can be made in a variety of sizes and shapes and fitted to different parts of a room, or even used to create animated screens or <a href="http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/lg-displays-latest-oled-tv-sticks-to-the-wall-is-under-1mm-thick/">wirelessly updatable wallpaper</a>.</p>
<p>It also means they could be made using <a href="http://semimd.com/blog/tag/oleds/">additive manufacturing</a> processes – essentially printing the entire technology onto a wall or ceiling panel or other flexible base. This would reduce waste because you only print what you need and you can manufacture the lights locally, reducing their environmental impact. They also don’t require the high temperature curing ovens used to make conventional LEDs.</p>
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<p>An <a href="http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-oleds-and-leps-work.html">OLED lighting panel</a> comprises multiple layers of organic material that are each tens of nanometers thick. These are sandwiched between two electrodes, a transparent conducting base layer and a metallic top layer. When electricity passes between these electrodes, it causes the organic material in between to emit light. Certain organic molecules in the layers act as “dopants” which determine the wavelength and so the colour of the light.</p>
<h2>Bringing the cost down</h2>
<p>Despite all the advantages of OLEDs, it may still take a while for them to take over from existing light fittings. The main reason we don’t already have OLEDs in our homes is the price tag. <a href="http://www.inter-lumi.com/m_article/16-At-what-price-consumers-will-adopt-OLED-lighting.html">Industry experts</a> expect OLED lighting will become a major market by 2020-2023, when OLED panels are expected to cost €200 per square metre (down from €7,000 today).</p>
<p>Cheaper OLEDs should be made possible by developing faster manufacturing methods. <a href="http://www.techhive.com/article/3018446/smart-tv/oled-vs-led-theres-just-no-comparison.html">We also need</a> to find a way to ensure the blue light emitting molecules in OLEDS last as long as those that produce green and red emissions. OLEDWorks, a New York-based lighting company that bought the OLED division from Philips Lighting in 2015, already has <a href="http://electronicdesign.com/leds/oled-lighting-flickers-through-growing-pains">several products</a> with 50,000-hour lifespans – comparable to existing LED lights. Once these goals are achieved we should be prepared for any part of a room – or object within it – to light up when we flick the switch.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57404/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Walker receives funding from the European Union Horizon 2020, H2020, research and innovation programme for the project Extmos, EXTended Model of Organic Semiconductors under grant agreement 64617, and the Seventh Framework Programme Initial Training Network Destiny, DyE SensiTIzed cells with eNhanced stabilitY under grant agreement 316494 both of which she coordinates. In addition she is funded by the H2020 Energy Oriented Centre of Excellence, EoCoE under grant agreement 676629. She is also funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Centre for Doctoral Training in New and Sustainable Photovoltaics (which she coleads), the Supersolar hub, and Doctoral Training Award studentships and by the University of Bath for studentships.</span></em></p>Flexible light-emitting screens mean you soon won’t need bulbs because your wallpaper – or even your furniture – will light up at the flick of a switch.Alison Walker, Professor of physics, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.