Build Your Own OLED!

1
OLED is an organic light-emitting diode that is made by having a

transparent tin oxide electrode and an active metal electrode produce
light when voltage is supplied, giving of the glow of an OLED. This
experiment is for those who are aspiring to become engineers or
those who like to make things. This is a fun lab that you can do in
Discovery your home. The purpose of these instructions is to show you how to
prepare the OLED and light it up; however, these instruction wont
Overlord show you how to make Tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II)
Tetrafluoroborate, ([Ru(bpy)3](BF4)2).

Materials
Eye protection
Hair dryer
Home Gloves
Double-stick tape
2 - 30mL Beaker
Cotton swabs
About Glass rod
Conductive Glass
Plastic wrap
(25.4mm x 25.4mm x 2.3mm)
Contact Microwave
Aluminum foil
0.30g of polyvinyl alcohol
Duct tape
10mL of water
1/8in hole punch
0.035g of [Ru(bpy)3](BF4)2
4.5 volt power supply
Ohmmeter Gallium indium eutectic, Aldrich,
2500 rpm fan and power 49542-5
supply

Before you begin, for your safety, wear eye protection and when
making [Ru(bpy)3](BF4)2 polyvinyl alcohol wear chemical gloves.

Procedure
SECTION 1: MAKING THE [RU(BPY)3](BF4)2 POLYVINYL ALCOHOL
SOLUTION.

Step 1.1: Place the 0.30g of polyvinyl

alcohol and the 10mL in one
of the 30mL beakers. (See
Figure 1)

Step 1.2: Cover the beaker loosely with

the plastic wrap.
Figure 1: Step 1.1 Source:
https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8
Step 1.3: Place the beaker in the
microwave to dissolve
polyvinyl alcohol.
(See Figure 2)
 Note: Do not allow the mixture to
boil, it would help by stirring it
with the glass rod.

Step 1.5: Pour 3mL of the polyvinyl

alcohol solution to the second
beaker. Figure 2: Step 1.3 Source:

Discovery Step 1.6: Dissolve the 0.035g of

https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8

Overlord [Ru(bpy)3](BF4)2 in the 3mL

solution.

Step 1.7: Stir the mixture with the glass

rod. (See Figure 3)
Home
Figure 3: Step 1.7 Source:
https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8
About
SECTION 2: PREPARING THE OLED.
Contact
Step 2.1: Use the ohmmeter to identify
the conductive side of the
conductive glass. (See Figure
4)

Note: The conductive side should

have a resistance of 20 to 30
Figure 4: Step 2.1 Source:
ohms. https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8

Step 2.2: Use the double-stick tape and

place it on the middle of the
fan. (See Figure 5)

Note: Place the nonconductive side

at the bottom, so it sticks with
the tape.
Figure 5: Step 2.2 Source:
https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8
Step 2.3: Remove any fingerprints from
the glass.

Step 2.4: Use the cotton swap and

spread a layer of [Ru(bpy)3]
(BF4)2 polyvinyl alcohol
solution on the center of the
glass. (See Figure 6) Figure 6: Step 2.4 Source:
https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8
 Step 2.5: Then spin the fan at 2500 rpm for about 5 to 10 seconds.

Step 2.6: Repeat Step 2.4 and Step 2.5, 3 to 4 more times.

Note: If the layer of the solution is too

thin it will give a short circuit
and will give no light. Also if
Discovery the layer of the solution is too
thick it will have a large
Overlord electrical resistant and will also
give no light.

Step 2.7: Use a piece of duct tape and Figure 7: Step 2.7 Source:
place it on the aluminum foil. https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8
Home (See Figure 7)

About Step 2.8: Punch a hole with the hole

puncher. (See Figure 8)
Contact
Note: This will be your template.

Step 2.9: Remove any remaining Figure 8: Step 2.8 Source:

https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8
moisture on the glass.

Step 2.10: Use the hair dryer to heat the

glass for at least one minute.
(See Figure 9)

Step 2.11: Use a different cotton swap to

paint through the template
mask with the liquid gallium- Figure 9: Step 2.10 Source:
https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8
indium alloy on top of the dry
solution. (See Figure 10)

Note: Try to give a good amount of

space between each paint.

Figure 10: Step 2.11 Source:

https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8

SECTION 3: LIGHTING THE OLED

Step 3.1: Touch the positive lead of a 4.5-volt power supply to the tin-
oxide glass (not the [Ru(bpy)3](BF4)2 coating).
 Step 3.2: Gently touch the negative lead
to the gallium-indium. (See
Figure 10)

Step 3.3: Turn of the light and you can

see the diode light up. (See
Figure 11)

Discovery Figure 10: Step 3.2 Source:

https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8

Overlord

Home
Figure 11: Step 3.3 Source:
About https://youtu.be/9HIrapHr8C8

Contact Q&A
1. Where can I get the conductive glass?
-You can buy at Hartford Glass Co which is 735 E Water Street,
Hartford City, IN 47348 and their phone number is 765-348-1282.
2. Can I use a different size of conductive glass?
-You can, but I am not use how many layers of [Ru(bpy)3](BF4)2
polyvinyl alcohol solution you should put on the glass. Contact me
and let me know!
3. Where can I go to make [Ru(bpy)3](BF4)2?
-You can at this website, http://education.mrsec.wisc.edu/nanolab/
Rubipy/index.html, which is a another lab that the University of
Wisconsin-Madison did and where I got this information.

1 Lisensky,
George. Preparation of an Organic Light Emitting Diode.
MRSEC Education | University of WisconsinMadison, 12 Dec. 2016,
education.mrsec.wisc.edu/299.htm. Accessed 31 Oct. 2017
 Technical Writing Reflection

I wrote a technical document on how to build an OLED. My project was written as

instructions because it was more for the general audience who wants to do something
interesting and learn while doing the lab. The audience will learn more of the OLED
technology and also those who will work with these types of projects and want to try
them out on their own. This is one example of applying one of the threshold concept
because when using writing I was able to write a blog post on a lab, so other people
can read it and make there own OLED. Also it will be useful for the readers to follow
when making their own light. In this class I learned how to write memos and for my
projects I learned to apply visual techniques which was called C.R.A.P., contrast,
repetition, alignment, and proximity to get my readers attention. Throughout the
course my goals were to try not to procrastinate and pay attention to my writing. When
each assignment came up I made myself a plan and keep those plans so I dont stay
behind. It was hard in the beginning because I was used to procrastinating but then it
started getting easier that I was able to focus more on other things. When writing my
documents I have an issue when it comes to grammar, I told myself to double check my
work and with the help of my colleges I was able to see my mistakes. With learning the
threshold concept I can see why we are a certain thing and will guide me on how to
write my documents and present it to people. The things I learned in this class I will
used them in the future for sure. By using the things I learned, I will inspect design
elements and choices and use it as an advantage for my work. The easiest part of this
class was learning about C.R.A.P. and how to apply it when presenting my work and
what context of use I was going to do it on. The hardest part for me; however, was
finding ideas what I am going to write and were I am going with it. With the help of
research, organizing my work, and getting help I was able to write my papers and
figure out what way it is going to go. This class was great and I am really going to use
everything I learned and apply it to future documents that I will write.