A Simple Structure Conjugated Polymer for High Mobility Organic Thin Film Transistors Processed from Nonchlorinated
Zhongli Wang1,2, Xianneng Song3, Yu Jiang1,2,4
1School of Materials Science and Engineering and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Science Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 P. R. China.
Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
|December 25, 2019
Summary
A new polymer, PDPPT3-HDO, offers high mobility in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) due to its unique structure and solubility in nonchlorinated solvents, paving the way for mass production.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Electronics
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- High-performance organic semiconductors are crucial for developing advanced electronic devices.
- Achieving high solubility in environmentally friendly solvents and maintaining structural simplicity are key challenges for polymer synthesis.
- Donor-acceptor conjugated polymers offer tunable electronic properties for applications in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize a novel donor-acceptor conjugated polymer, PDPPT3-HDO, with enhanced solubility and high charge carrier mobility.
- To investigate the effect of alkyl side chain density and comonomer incorporation on polymer self-assembly and film morphology.
- To evaluate the performance of PDPPT3-HDO in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) fabricated using a scalable bar-coating method.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of poly(2,5-bis(4-hexyldodecyl)-2,5-dihydro-3,6-di-2-thienyl-pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-alt-thiophene) (PDPPT3-HDO) via a nonchlorinated solvent processable route.
- Incorporation of thiophene comonomer to increase alkyl side chain density and enhance solubility.
- Fabrication of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) using bar coating of PDPPT3-HDO from o-xylene solution.
- Characterization of polymer film morphology, self-assembly properties, and device performance, including hole mobility and reliability.
Main Results:
- PDPPT3-HDO exhibits excellent solubility in nonchlorinated solvents owing to its denser alkyl side chains and incorporation of thiophene.
- Bar-coated films of PDPPT3-HDO display highly aligned structures, facilitating efficient charge transport.
- Achieved a high hole mobility of up to 9.24 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ in OTFTs with a mobility reliability factor of 87% and near-ideal transistor behavior.
Conclusions:
- The denser alkyl side chain strategy, combined with thiophene comonomer incorporation, successfully yields high-mobility conjugated polymers processable from nonchlorinated solvents.
- The structural simplicity and solution processability of PDPPT3-HDO are advantageous for industrial scale-up.
- This approach provides a promising pathway for designing and manufacturing high-performance polymer semiconductors for mass-produced OTFTs and related devices.
