Progress in the synthesis of imide-based N-type polymer semiconductor materials

Based on the development situation and challenge of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), it is necessary to develop N-type polymer building blocks with specific structures and performance. After decades of development, some excellent polymer receptor building blocks have been developed to construct N-type organic semiconductors, which have been applied in OFETs and OPVs. In this paper, four kinds of imide (bisthiophene imide BTI, bisthiazolimide BTz, naphthalimide NDI, and perylene imide PDI)-based N-type polymer semiconductor materials are introduced, and their applications in OFETs and OPVs are analyzed, too. The molecular structure design and the performance of corresponding materials are summarized to provide further guidance and reference for the design and development of high performance N-type polymer semiconductors.