Solution-Processable Balanced Ambipolar Field-Effect Transistors Based on Carbonyl-Regulated Copolymers

It is very important to develop ambipolar field effect transistors to construct complementary circuits. To obtain balanced hole- and electron-transport properties, one of the key issues is to regulate the energy levels of the frontier orbitals of the semiconductor materials by structural tailoring, so that they match well with the electrode Fermi levels. Five conjugated copolymers were synthesized and exhibited low LUMO energy levels and narrow bandgaps on account of the strong electron-withdrawing effect of the carbonyl groups. Polymer thin film transistors were prepared by using a solution method and exhibited high and balanced hole and electron mobility of up to 0.46 cm²  V^-1  s^-1 , which suggested that these copolymers are promising ambipolar semiconductor materials.