Experimental evidence that short-range intermolecular aggregation is sufficient for efficient charge transport in conjugated polymers.
Efficiency, current throughput, and speed of electronic devices are to a great extent dictated by charge carrier mobility. The classic approach to impart high carrier mobility to polymeric semiconductors has often relied on the assumption that extensive order and crystallinity are needed. Recently, however, this assumption has been challenged, because high mobility has been reported for semiconducting polymers that exhibit a surprisingly low degree of order. Here, we show that semiconducting polymers can be confined into weakly ordered fibers within an inert polymer matrix without affecting their charge transport properties. In these conditions, the semiconducting polymer chains are inhibited from attaining long-range order in the π-stacking or alkyl-stacking directions, as demonstrated from the absence of significant X-ray diffraction intensity corresponding to these crystallographic directions, yet still remain extended along the backbone direction and aggregate on a local length scale. As a result, the polymer films maintain high mobility even at very low concentrations. Our findings provide a simple picture that clarifies the role of local order and connectivity of domains.
Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, SE-60174, Norrköping, Sweden;
Suhao
S
Wang
Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, SE-60174, Norrköping, Sweden; simone.fabiano@liu.se.
Simone
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7016-6514
S
Fabiano
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Scott
S
Himmelberger
Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, SE-60174, Norrköping, Sweden;
Skomantas
S
Puzinas
Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, SE-60174, Norrköping, Sweden;
Xavier
X
Crispin
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Alberto
A
Salleo
Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, SE-60174, Norrköping, Sweden;
Magnus
M
Berggren
aggregation; charge transport; conjugated polymers; organic electronics