High carrier mobility polythiophene thin films: Structure determination by experiment and theory

The structure within crystalline thin films of a high-carrier-mobility polythiophene is studied with complementary characterization methods and first-principles theory. As shown in the figure, two important structural aspects are revealed: 1) a slip in the face-to-face pi-pi packing, which strongly influences carrier mobility, and 2) the interdigitation of highly trans side chains between vertically adjacent lamellae.