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Title: Enhancing Molecular Alignment and Charge Transport of Solution-Sheared Semiconducting Polymer Films by the Electrical-Blade Effect

Abstract

Abstract Controlling polymer chain alignment through processing is a means of tuning the charge transport of solution‐based conjugated polymers. In this work, a processing strategy is proposed in which an external electric field (E‐field) is applied to the coating blade (E‐blade) to align polymer chain during solution‐shearing, a meniscus‐guided coating technique. A theoretical model based on dielectrophoresis quantitatively describes and predicts the alignment process and is used to guide the selection of the optimal conditions of the applied E‐field. Using these conditions, more than twofold increase in chain alignment is observed for E‐bladed thin films of a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) semiconducting polymer without affecting other morphological aspects such as film thickness, film coverage, or fiber‐like aggregation. Organic field effect transistors based on the E‐bladed DPP polymer are fabricated at ambient conditions and over areas of a few cm 2 . They display a threefold improvement in their mobilities and a strong enhancement in charge transport anisotropy compared to films prepared without E‐field. These results reveal a synergistic alignment effect from both the solution‐shearing process and the applied E‐field, and introduce a novel and general approach to control the morphology and the electrical properties of solution‐coated conjugated polymer thin films.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3];  [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
  2. Stanford Univ., CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  3. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1463390
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1438076
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-76SF00515; SC0016523; P2ELP2_155355; ECCS-1542152; 106-2917-I-564-023; DE‐SC0016523
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Advanced Electronic Materials
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 4; Journal Issue: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 2199-160X
Publisher:
Wiley
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
42 ENGINEERING

Citation Formats

Molina-Lopez, Francisco, Wu, Hung-Chin, Wang, Ging-Ji Nathan, Yan, Hongping, Shaw, Leo, Xu, Jie, Toney, Michael F., and Bao, Zhenan. Enhancing Molecular Alignment and Charge Transport of Solution-Sheared Semiconducting Polymer Films by the Electrical-Blade Effect. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1002/aelm.201800110.
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Molina-Lopez, Francisco, Wu, Hung-Chin, Wang, Ging-Ji Nathan, Yan, Hongping, Shaw, Leo, Xu, Jie, Toney, Michael F., & Bao, Zhenan. Enhancing Molecular Alignment and Charge Transport of Solution-Sheared Semiconducting Polymer Films by the Electrical-Blade Effect. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.201800110
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Molina-Lopez, Francisco, Wu, Hung-Chin, Wang, Ging-Ji Nathan, Yan, Hongping, Shaw, Leo, Xu, Jie, Toney, Michael F., and Bao, Zhenan. Mon . "Enhancing Molecular Alignment and Charge Transport of Solution-Sheared Semiconducting Polymer Films by the Electrical-Blade Effect". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.201800110. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1463390.
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@article{osti_1463390,
title = {Enhancing Molecular Alignment and Charge Transport of Solution-Sheared Semiconducting Polymer Films by the Electrical-Blade Effect},
author = {Molina-Lopez, Francisco and Wu, Hung-Chin and Wang, Ging-Ji Nathan and Yan, Hongping and Shaw, Leo and Xu, Jie and Toney, Michael F. and Bao, Zhenan},
abstractNote = {Abstract Controlling polymer chain alignment through processing is a means of tuning the charge transport of solution‐based conjugated polymers. In this work, a processing strategy is proposed in which an external electric field (E‐field) is applied to the coating blade (E‐blade) to align polymer chain during solution‐shearing, a meniscus‐guided coating technique. A theoretical model based on dielectrophoresis quantitatively describes and predicts the alignment process and is used to guide the selection of the optimal conditions of the applied E‐field. Using these conditions, more than twofold increase in chain alignment is observed for E‐bladed thin films of a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) semiconducting polymer without affecting other morphological aspects such as film thickness, film coverage, or fiber‐like aggregation. Organic field effect transistors based on the E‐bladed DPP polymer are fabricated at ambient conditions and over areas of a few cm 2 . They display a threefold improvement in their mobilities and a strong enhancement in charge transport anisotropy compared to films prepared without E‐field. These results reveal a synergistic alignment effect from both the solution‐shearing process and the applied E‐field, and introduce a novel and general approach to control the morphology and the electrical properties of solution‐coated conjugated polymer thin films.},
doi = {10.1002/aelm.201800110},
journal = {Advanced Electronic Materials},
number = 7,
volume = 4,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {5}
}
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Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.201800110
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Cited by: 25 works
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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: Application of electric field effect to align solution-sheared DPP-TT molecules. a) Sketch of the E-blade setup employed: a blade moving at a constant velocity is used to cast the solution sandwiched between the blade and substrate while an electrical potential difference is maintained between them. An E-field ismore » generated along the direction of shearing acting as a brush for the polymer chains. b) Structure of the molecule used ($M$$n$ = 17.9 kDa) and schematic explaining the physics of the process: dielectrophoresis (DEP) forces ($F$$DEP$ induces translational motion in the molecules) and torques ($T$$DEP$ induces the rotation represented by the arc) are expected to act upon the DPP-TT molecules (or aggregates), aligning their backbone with the applied E-field direction. c) Estimated normalized E-field effect (polarizability $α$ divided by vacuum permittivity $ɛ$0) for DPP-TT showing the dependence of $α$ and thus the DEP force and torque (Equation 1 and 2) on solvent and E-field frequency. Three solvents are shown with different polarity ($o$-dichlorobenzene (di-Cl-Benzene)> chlorobenzene (Cl-benzene) > $p$-xylene), and the polarizable particles are assumed to be shaped as rods or spheres. The dashed lines in the graphic indicate representative frequency points selected to demonstrate the model in the subsequent experiments.« less
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    An Intrinsically Stretchable High‐Performance Polymer Semiconductor with Low Crystallinity
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