A Three-in-One Hybrid Strategy for High-Performance Semiconducting Polymers Processed from Anisole

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Organic Electronics
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Sustainable manufacturing of organic electronics requires semiconducting polymers with good processability in green solvents and high electrical performance.
• A key challenge is the processability-performance trade-off, often due to a lack of suitable molecular building blocks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel building block, TQBT (donor-quinoid-acceptor), to overcome the processability-performance dichotomy in semiconducting polymers.
• To synthesize and characterize conjugated polymers based on TQBT for enhanced green solvent processability and electrical properties.

Main Methods:

• Integration of donor, quinoid, and acceptor units to create the TQBT building block.
• Synthesis of conjugated polymers, specifically PTQBT-T, incorporating the TQBT unit.
• Characterization of polymer solubility, backbone rigidity, aggregation behavior, and electrical performance (hole mobility) in films processed from anisole.

Main Results:

• The TQBT building block, with its asymmetric structure and high dipole moment, enhanced polymer solubility in anisole (a green solvent).
• PTQBT-T exhibited a rigid and planar backbone, leading to controlled aggregation in solution and films.
• Spin-coated PTQBT-T films from anisole achieved a record hole mobility of 2.30 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, along with good operational and storage stability.

Conclusions:

• The novel TQBT building block is a pioneering electroactive unit for high-performance semiconducting polymers.
• This work demonstrates a viable strategy for designing ecofriendly organic electronics through green solvent processing.
• The findings pave the way for future development of sustainable and high-performance organic electronic materials.