Understanding energy transfer dynamics for efficient near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes

Organic semiconductors have driven the evolution of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, enabling its progressive commercialization in smartphone and portable display markets. Building upon these advances, growing research focuses on long-wavelength near-infrared (NIR) OLEDs as promising platforms for bioimaging and sensing, whereas efficient device development remains challenging due to intrinsic losses such as nonradiative decay and limited energy transfer. Recent strategies have aimed at optimizing molecular design, mitigating exciton losses, and engineering device architectures to maximize radiative recombination in the NIR region. This review summarizes the critical factors influencing the performance of NIR OLEDs, focusing on state-of-the-art novel NIR emitting-molecules, host-guest interactions compatibility, and emission spectral management. Special attention is given to energy transfer processes in both binary and ternary blend systems, which offer new opportunities for exciton management and efficiency enhancement. By integrating insights from material chemistry and device engineering, this review provides a comprehensive perspective on minimizing exciton losses and unlocking the full potential of NIR OLEDs for practical applications.