Trap Polarity and the p/n Asymmetry in Oxidised DNTT: A Frontier-Shift Rule

Organic thin-film transistors based on dinaphtho[2,3-b:2',3'-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DNTT) are attractive for low-cost, large-area electronics, but in unencapsulated devices, atmospheric oxidation generates charge traps whose electronic character-which product traps holes and which traps electrons-has not been mapped systematically. Here, 39 oxygen- and hydroxyl-related defect identities of DNTT are screened with the semi-empirical GFN2-xTB method, complemented by an a priori frontier reactivity index, and classified by the sign of the frontier-level shift. This sign obeys a simple rule: a net π-donating hydroxyl raises the HOMO and yields a hole trap, whereas a net π-accepting carbonyl or quinone lowers the frontier levels and yields a deep electron trap. Hybrid density-functional theory (B3LYP/def2-TZVP) confirms the sign rule and the ordering of the shifts across all closed-shell defect classes. The rule provides a compact, defect-level rationalisation of the well-known asymmetry whereby p-type acenes tolerate air far better than n-type ones. Finally, a hole trap of about 0.255 eV, measured by deep-level transient Fourier spectroscopy, is shown to be consistent with a hydroxyl-related origin, without claiming a unique microscopic assignment.