Semiconducting polymers with nanocrystallites interconnected via boron-doped carbon nanotubes.
Organic semiconductors are key building blocks for future electronic devices that require unprecedented properties of low-weight, flexibility, and portability. However, the low charge-carrier mobility and undesirable processing conditions limit their compatibility with low-cost, flexible, and printable electronics. Here, we present significantly enhanced field-effect mobility (μ(FET)) in semiconducting polymers mixed with boron-doped carbon nanotubes (B-CNTs). In contrast to undoped CNTs, which tend to form undesired aggregates, the B-CNTs exhibit an excellent dispersion in conjugated polymer matrices and improve the charge transport between polymer chains. Consequently, the B-CNT-mixed semiconducting polymers enable the fabrication of high-performance FETs on plastic substrates via a solution process; the μFET of the resulting FETs reaches 7.2 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), which is the highest value reported for a flexible FET based on a semiconducting polymer. Our approach is applicable to various semiconducting polymers without any additional undesirable processing treatments, indicating its versatility, universality, and potential for high-performance printable electronics.
Department of Nanobio Materials and Electronics, School of Materials Science and Engineering, ‡Heeger Center for Advanced Materials (HCAM), and §Research Institute for Solar and Sustainable Energies (RISE), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) , Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea.
Kilho
K
Yu
Ju Min
JM
Lee
Junghwan
J
Kim
Geunjin
G
Kim
Hongkyu
H
Kang
Byoungwook
B
Park
Yung
Y
Ho Kahng
Sooncheol
S
Kwon
Sangchul
S
Lee
Byoung Hun
BH
Lee
Jehan
J
Kim
Hyung Il
HI
Park
Sang Ouk
SO
Kim
Kwanghee
K
Lee
Semiconducting polymer; carbon nanotube; field-effect transistor; nanocomposite; polymer nanocrystallite; room-temperature process