Polymer semiconductor blends with remarkably stable semiconducting performance under large and cyclic mechanical...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Organic Electronics

Background:

• Polymer semiconductors are crucial for flexible electronics.
• Developing materials that maintain performance under mechanical strain is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a new elastomer, hydrogenated polyisoprene (H-PIP), for deformable polymer semiconductor blend thin films.
• To investigate the mechanical and semiconducting properties of these new films.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of blend thin films using p-type (PDPPTT) and n-type (N2200) polymer semiconductors with H-PIP.
• Mechanical testing to determine elastic moduli and crack on-set strains.
• Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Grazing Incidence Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (GIWAXS) to characterize film morphology.
• Evaluation of semiconducting performance under mechanical deformation.

Main Results:

• H-PIP blends exhibit lower elastic moduli and higher crack on-set strains compared to other elastomers.
• The blend thin films demonstrate remarkably stable semiconducting performance under large and cyclic mechanical deformations.
• AFM and GIWAXS confirm stable assembly structures of polymer semiconductors within the H-PIP matrix.
• H-PIP's unique structure of mobile aliphatic-hydrocarbon chains prevents internal stress generation.

Conclusions:

• Hydrogenated polyisoprene (H-PIP) is a promising elastomer for creating highly deformable and stable polymer semiconductor films.
• The intrinsic properties of H-PIP allow blend films to conform to substrate deformations without compromising the semiconductor's assembly network.
• This work paves the way for advanced flexible and stretchable organic electronic devices.