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Ultra-low misorientation angle in small-molecule semiconductor/polyethylene oxide blends for organic thin film transistors

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Abstract

In this work, we report for the first time the use of a nonconjugated semicrystalline polymer as a film-forming agent to control the crystallization and tune the charge transport of solution-processed, small-molecule organic semiconductors. When 6,13-bis (triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) was demonstrated as a representative material to blend with polyethylene oxide (PEO) polymer, it crystallized into uniformly-aligned needles with reduced random orientation, enhanced long-range order and elevated areal coverage. Specifically, an ultra-low misorientation angle of 7.9° ± 3.5° was obtained with 10% PEO additive, beneficial for charge transport in the TIPS pentacene/PEO hybrid film. Bottom-gate, top-contact organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) based on TIPS pentacene/PEO mixture were found to show a field-effect mobility up to 2.5 × 10−2 cm2/Vs. This work may be universally applied to other organic semiconductors to regulate their crystal formation, enhance film forming and improve device performance of OTFTs. It contributes to the utilization of flexible substrates for future-generation high-performance organic electronics.

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Acknowledgements

Z. H. would like to acknowledge support provided from the University of Alabama. S. Bi would like to thank Science and Technology Project of Liaoning Province (20180540006). A part of this research was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    Zhengran He

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Ziyang Zhang

  3. Key Laboratory for Precision and Non-traditional Machining Technology of the Ministry of Education, and Institute of Photoelectric Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, Liaoning, China

    Sheng Bi

  4. Electrical and Computer Engineering, Penn State Behrend, Erie, PA, 16563, USA

    Kyeiwaa Asare-Yeboah

  5. Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA

    Jihua Chen

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  1. Zhengran He
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He, Z., Zhang, Z., Bi, S. et al. Ultra-low misorientation angle in small-molecule semiconductor/polyethylene oxide blends for organic thin film transistors. J Polym Res 27, 75 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-020-02047-y

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