Enabling high-mobility, ambipolar charge-transport in a DPP-benzotriazole copolymer by side-chain engineering. Issue 12 (8th September 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gruber, Mathias; Jung, Seok-Heon; Schott, Sam; Venkateshvaran, Deepak; Kronemeijer, Auke Jisk; Andreasen, Jens Wenzel; McNeill, Christopher R.; Wong, Wallace W. H.; Shahid, Munazza; Heeney, Martin; Lee, Jin-Kyun; Sirringhaus, Henning
• Is Part Of: Chemical science. Volume 6:Issue 12(2015:Dec.)
• Page Start: 6949
• Page End: 6960
• Publication Date: 2015-09-08
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1039/c5sc01326g
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2041-6520

Abstract

Abstract : In this article we discuss the synthesis of four new low band-gap co-polymers based on the diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) and benzotriazole (BTZ) monomer unit. Abstract : In this article we discuss the synthesis of four new low band-gap co-polymers based on the diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) and benzotriazole (BTZ) monomer unit. We demonstrate that the BTZ unit allows for additional solubilizing side-chains on the co-monomer and show that the introduction of a linear side-chain on the DPP-unit leads to an increase in thin-film order and charge-carrier mobility if a sufficiently solubilizing, branched, side chain is attached to the BTZ. We compare two different synthetic routes, direct arylation and Suzuki-polycondensation, by a direct comparison of polymers obtained via the two routes and show that direct arylation produces polymers with lower electrical performance which we attribute to a higher density of chain Furthermore we demonstrate that a polymer utilizing this design motif and synthesized via Suzuki-polycondensation ((l-C18 )-DPP-(b-C17 )-BTZ ) exhibits exceptionally high and near balanced average electron and hole mobilities >2 cm 2 V −1 s −1 which are among the highest, robustly extracted mobility values reported for DPP copolymers in a top-gate configuration to date. Our results demonstrate clearly that linear side chain substitution of the DPP unit together with co-monomers that allow for the use of sufficiently long or branched solubilizing side chains can be an attractive design motif for solution processable, high mobility DPP copolymers.