Control of the Morphology and Structural Development of Solution-Processed Functionalized Acenes for High-Performance Organic Transistors

Solution-processable functionalized acenes have received special attention as promising organic semiconductors in recent years because of their superior intermolecular interactions and solution-processability, and provide useful benchmarks for organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Charge-carrier transport in organic semiconductor thin films is governed by their morphologies and molecular orientation, so self-assembly of these functionalized acenes during solution processing is an important challenge. This article discusses the charge-carrier transport characteristics of solution processed functionalized acene transistors and, in particular, focuses on the fine control of the films' morphologies and structural evolution during film deposition processes such as inkjet printing and post deposition annealing. We discuss strategies for controlling morphologies and crystalline microstructure of soluble acenes with a view of fabricating high performance OFETs.