Interconnecting semiconducting molecules with non-conjugated soft linkers: a way to improve film formation quality without sacrifice in charge mobility. Issue 42 (28th June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xiao, Wen-Jing; Wang, Jiandong; Li, Hong-Jiao; Liang, Long; Xiang, Xuan; Chen, Xue-Qiang; Li, Jingjing; Lu, Zhengquan; Li, Wei-Shi
• Is Part Of: RSC advances. Volume 8:Issue 42(2018)
• Page Start: 23546
• Page End: 23554
• Publication Date: 2018-06-28
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1039/c8ra04405h
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-2069

Abstract

Abstract : For small molecular semiconductors, interconnecting their molecules with non-conjugated soft linkers has been demonstrated to be a good way for improving their film formation quality while keeping their mobility intact for OFETs. Abstract : The formation of high quality homogeneous active component films is essential to the fabrication of many organic optoelectronic devices, especially those having a large area module. However, most small molecule (SM) semiconductors are unable to achieve such a goal via solution processing because their large and rigid π-conjugated structures generally drive them to aggregate or crystallize into inhomogeneous domains in the process. In this work, a SM semiconductor (SM-DPP6T) based on a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) center with three thiophene units on both sides encounters the same problem. However, when its molecules are interconnected with soft alkyl linkers and change into a poly(rod-coil) polymer, PRC-DPP6T, the problem is solved. Compared with SM-DPP6T, PRC-DPP6T can form a high quality homogeneous film with much better uniformity and coverage on silicon wafers by spin-coating. Moreover, the so-prepared PRC-DPP6T field-effect transistors displayed a much narrower performance distribution and comparable mobility when compared with those based on SM-DPP6T (0.17 vs. 0.15 cm 2 V −1 s −1 ). These results demonstrate that the interconnection of SM semiconductor molecules with soft non-conjugated linkers is a promising way to improve film formation quality while keeping mobility intact.