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Title: Unraveling the Main Chain and Side Chain Effects on Thin Film Morphology and Charge Transport in Quinoidal Conjugated Polymers

Journal Article · · Advanced Functional Materials
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [2];  [2];  [5];  [5];  [2];  [5]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); South China Univ. of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou (China)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. Univ. of Castilla–La Mancha, Albacete (Spain)
  4. Jaén Univ. (Spain)
  5. South China Univ. of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou (China)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Three series of low-bandgap polymers based on a novel quinoidal para-azaquinodimethane (p-AQM) unit are devised and synthesized, enabling an in-depth study of the impact of structural factors such as polymer main chain, branching point of the side chain, and the length of the branch chains on the thin film morphologies and charge transport properties. Morphological studies reveal that the polymers composed of larger repeating units exhibit a stronger tendency to form edge-on lamella. In contrast, altering the side chain structures of polymers with the same main chain configuration indicates that the branching point position has a more deterministic impact than the branch chain length on the interchain interactions and the crystallite orientation. These results demonstrate a compound odd-even effect of the branching point on the chain packing and morphology, which correlates well with the corresponding field effect transistor performances. The polymer with the branching point at the fourth carbon displays the highest charge carrier mobility over 1.0 cm2 V-Three series of low-bandgap polymers based on a novel quinoidal para-azaquinodimethane (p-AQM) unit are devised and synthesized, enabling an in-depth study of the impact of structural factors such as polymer main chain, branching point of the side chain, and the length of the branch chains on the thin film morphologies and charge transport properties. Morphological studies reveal that the polymers composed of larger repeating units exhibit a stronger tendency to form edge-on lamella. On the other hand, altering the side chain structures of polymers with the same main chain configuration indicates that the branching point position has a more deterministic impact than the branch chain length on the interchain interactions and the crystallite orientation. These results reflect a compound odd-even effect of the branching point on the chain packing and morphology, which correlates well with the corresponding field effect transistor performances. The polymer with the branching point at the fourth carbon displays the highest charge carrier mobility over 1.0 cm2 V-1 s-1, concurrent with a bimodal texture. This study provides a comprehensive description of the correlations between polymer structures, thin film morphology, and device performances, providing a clear path to desirable bimodal thin film texture for charge transport.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); China Scholarship Council
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; DE‐AC02‐05CH11231; DE‐AC02‐05‐CH11231
OSTI ID:
1530370
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1785874
Journal Information:
Advanced Functional Materials, Vol. 28, Issue 31; ISSN 1616-301X
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 46 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (4)

The Effects of Side Chains on the Charge Mobilities and Functionalities of Semiconducting Conjugated Polymers beyond Solubilities journal September 2019
The Critical Role of Electron‐Donating Thiophene Groups on the Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Donor–Acceptor Semiconducting Polymers journal March 2019
The odd–even effect of alkyl chain in organic room temperature phosphorescence luminogens and the corresponding in vivo imaging journal January 2019
Modulating charge transport characteristics of bis-azaisoindigo-based D–A conjugated polymers through energy level regulation and side chain optimization journal January 2019

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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
charge transport
conjugated polymer
low bandgap
morphology
quinoidal