A flexible moisture barrier comprised of a SiO2-embedded organic–inorganic hybrid nanocomposite and Al2O3 for thin-film encapsulation of OLEDs

• The characteristics of a flexible moisture barrier were investigated.
• The moisture barrier containing a silica nanoparticle-embedded organic–inorganic hybrid nanocomposite and Al2O3.
• The WVTR value of 1.14 × 10−5 g/m2 day and transmittance of 85.8% were obtained for the sub-700 nm thick multi-barrier.
• After bending under tensile stress mode, the moisture barrier property of the multi-barriers was retained.
• The thin-film encapsulated OLEDs showed practicable I–V–L characteristics and stable real operation over 700 h.

We demonstrated a high performance flexible multi-barrier containing a silica nanoparticle-embedded organic–inorganic hybrid (S–H) nanocomposite and Al2O3. The multi-barrier was prepared by low-temperature Al2O3 atomic layer deposition and with a spin-coated S–H nanocomposite. The moisture barrier properties were investigated with a water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), estimated by a Ca test at 30 °C, 90% R.H.. Moisture diffusion was effectively suppressed by the sub-700 nm thick multi-barrier incorporating well-dispersed silica nanoparticles in the organic layer. A low WVTR of 1.14 × 10−5 g/m2 day and average transmittance of 85.8% in the visible region were obtained for the multi-barrier. After bending under tensile stress mode, the moisture barrier property of the multi-barriers was retained. The multi-barrier was successfully applied to thin-film encapsulation of OLEDs. The thin-film encapsulated OLEDs showed practicable current–voltage–luminance (I–V–L) characteristics and stable real operation over 700 h under ambient conditions.

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