Suspect Screening of OLED-Related Chemicals in Discarded Smartphone Screens

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens are widely used in smartphones and constitute an increasing component of the e-waste stream, yet the chemical profiles and potential release of OLED screen materials remain poorly understood. Here, we combined GC–HRMS with an in-house suspect-screening library to identify and (semi)quantify OLED-related compounds in discarded smartphone screens, separating each screen into a display functional laminate (DFL) and a module carrier layer (MCL). Twenty-four OLED-related compounds were identified, including 22 confirmed with reference standards. Structurally, all compounds contained at least two (hetero)aromatic rings and were grouped into five classes: fused polycyclic aromatics, (hetero)biaryls, fluorene/spirobifluorene derivatives, triarylamines, and carbazole motifs. At the whole-screen level, the total chemical burden ranged from 2.24 to 14.6 μg per screen. Across screens, six aryl boronic acids dominated the detected mass, collectively contributing 83–99% of the total. Composition profiles were broadly consistent across DFL samples, indicating similar manufacturing practices. Compound- and mass-level comparisons between DFL and MCL indicated chemical-specific distributions, suggesting potential redistribution within the screen module during manufacturing, use, dismantling, or disposal. Altogether, these results provide an initial characterization of OLED-associated chemicals in waste screens and inform future evaluations of chemical release and exposure in e-waste contexts.