Journal
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
Volume 32, Issue 16, Pages -Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202111950
Keywords
eco-friendly solution processes; high electron mobility; n-type electrochemical transistors; oligo(ethylene glycol) polymers; organic electrochemical transistors
Categories
Funding
- National Research Foundation of Korea [NRF2017M3A7B8065584, NRF-2021R1A2C101301511]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Despite the limited number of high-performance n-type materials, this study develops a series of naphthalene diimide-based polymers with asymmetrically branched oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) side chains for green-solvent-processed, high-performance n-type organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). The incorporation of branched OEG side chains enables solubility in eco-friendly ethanol/water solvent mixtures and produces highly ordered polymer packing with excellent lateral charge transport. The resulting n-type OECT exhibits the best electrical/electrochemical performance in the family, indicating important guidelines for the design of n-type organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors with excellent OECT characteristics.
Despite the growing attention on organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), most research has focused on the design of p-type active materials, and the number of high-performance n-type materials is limited. Herein, a series of naphthalene diimide-based polymers incorporated with asymmetrically branched oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) side chains are developed to enable green-solvent-processed, high-performance n-type OECTs. The branched OEG side chains afford sufficient solubility in eco-friendly ethanol/water solvent mixtures. Importantly, taking advantage of the amphiphilic nature of OEG-based polymers, ethanol/water solvents selectively solvate hydrophilic OEG side chains, while producing assembled pi-pi stacks of hydrophobic backbones. This enables highly ordered polymer packing with a preferential edge-on orientation, and thus excellent lateral charge transport. In particular, the fine-tuned OEG side chains of P(NDIMTEG-T) provide compact backbone packing, effective polaron generation, and superior electrochemical stability with optimized swelling capability. The resultant n-type OECT shows the best electrical/electrochemical performance in the family, represented by a high transconductance (g(m)) of 0.38 S cm(-1) and a large figure-of-merit (mu C*) of 0.56 F V-1 cm(-1) s(-1). This study demonstrates the use of aqueous processing in OECTs, for the first time, and suggests important guidelines for the design of n-type organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors with excellent OECT characteristics.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available