An n-Type Polythiophene Derivative with Excellent Thermoelectric Performance

Typical n-type conjugated polymers are based on fused-ring electron-accepting building blocks. Herein, we report a non-fused-ring strategy to design n-type conjugated polymers, i.e. introducing electron-withdrawing imide or cyano groups to each thiophene unit of a non-fused-ring polythiophene backbone. The resulting polymer, n-PT1, shows low LUMO/HOMO energy levels of -3.91 eV/-6.22 eV, high electron mobility of 0.39 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) and high crystallinity in thin film. After n-doping, n-PT1 exhibits excellent thermoelectric performance with an electrical conductivity of 61.2 S cm(-1) and a power factor (PF) of 141.7 mu W m(-1) K-2. This PF is the highest value reported so far for n-type conjugated polymers and this is the first time for polythiophene derivatives to be used in n-type organic thermoelectrics. The excellent thermoelectric performance of n-PT1 is due to its superior tolerance to doping. This work indicates that polythiophene derivatives without fused rings are low-cost and high-performance n-type conjugated polymers.

Automated summary

A non-fused-ring strategy was used to design n-type conjugated polymers by introducing electron-withdrawing groups to a non-fused-ring polythiophene backbone. The resulting polymer, n-PT1, showed low energy levels, high electron mobility, and high crystallinity. After n-doping, n-PT1 exhibited excellent thermoelectric performance with the highest reported power factor for n-type conjugated polymers.