Through-space charge transfer polymers for solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes

Through-space charge transfer (TSCT) polymers are an attractive class of luminescent polymers with spatial donor/acceptor architecture and thermally activated delayed fluorescence effect, different from conventional luminescent polymers with conjugated donor-acceptor structure and through-bond charge transfer emission. Their emission comes from the intramolecular charge transfer by through-space pathway because the donor and acceptor segments are spatially proximate to each other in each repeating unit but are physically separated by nonconjugated polymer backbone. In this review, recent advances in TSCT polymers with linear, bottlebrush, and dendritic architectures are presented, with the focus on their molecular design, photophysical behavior, and device performance. We hope that this review shall provide a useful insight of new luminescent polymers with TSCT effect for use in solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes.