Brittle PCDTPT Based Elastic Hybrid Networks for Transparent Stretchable Skin-Like Electronics

Organic semiconductors offer the opportunity to develop intrinsically stretchable skin-like electronics for future applications. However, the lack of intrinsically stretchable materials is still a fundamental challenge, originating from the brittle nature of most organic semiconductors with the fracture strain at a few percent (<10%). Here, a stretchable semiconductor composite is reported by blending the brittle poly[4-(4,4-dihexadecyl-4H-cyclopenta[1,2-b:5,4-b ']dithiophen-2-yl)-alt-[1,2,5]thiad-iazolo [3,4-c] pyridine] (PCDTPT) semiconductor with the crack-onset strain only at 5% and the styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene elastomer. This blend films present the increased crack-onset strain up to 182% and superior optical transparency (>95% at 550 nm), with mobility as high as 2.31 cm(2) V-1 s(-1). The depth-dependence light absorption spectra and the conductive atomic force microscopy images in horizontal and vertical directions of the blend film confirm the nonuniform distribution of PCDTPT fibers with sandwiched structure, which weakens the effect of device configuration on mobility. Compared with the conventional uniform film, the sandwiched film weakens the effect of device configuration on mobility. The fully transparent stretchable transistors with the blend films show the outstanding ductility and high optical transparency. This work opens up a feasible path for brittle organic semiconductors used in the transparent stretchable transistor, presenting their promising potential in future see-through skin-like electronics.

Automated summary

Organic semiconductors are brittle and have limited stretchability, which hinders their applications in stretchable electronics. In this study, a stretchable semiconductor composite was developed by blending a brittle organic semiconductor with an elastomer, resulting in improved crack-onset strain, transparency, and mobility. The nonuniform distribution of the semiconductor fibers in the composite film weakens the effect of device configuration on mobility. This work presents a feasible path for using brittle organic semiconductors in transparent stretchable electronics.