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Chang Y, Huang YH, Lin PS, Hong SH, Tung SH, Liu CL. Enhanced Electrical Conductivity and Mechanical Properties of Stretchable Thermoelectric Generators Formed by Doped Semiconducting Polymer/Elastomer Blends. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:3764-3777. [PMID: 38226590 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c15651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
Recent research efforts have concentrated on the development of flexible and stretchable thermoelectric (TE) materials. However, significant challenges have emerged, including increased resistance and reduced electrical conductivity when subjected to strain. To address these issues, rigid semiconducting polymers and elastic insulating polymers have been incorporated and nanoconfinement effects have been exploited to enhance the charge mobility. Herein, a feasible approach is presented for fabricating stretchable TE materials by using a doped semiconducting polymer blend consisting of either poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) or poly(3,6-dithiophen-2-yl-2,5-di(2-decyltetradecyl)-pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-alt-thienylenevinylene-2,5-yl) (PDVT-10) as the rigid polymer with styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) as the elastic polymer. In particular, the blend composition is optimized to achieve a continuous network structure with SEBS, thereby improving the stretchability. The optimized polymer films exhibit well-ordered microstructural aggregates, indicative of good miscibility with FeCl3 and enhanced doping efficiency. Notably, a lower activation energy and higher charge-carrier concentration contribute to an improved electrical conductivity under high tensile strain, with a maximum output power of 1.39 nW at a ΔT of 22.4 K. These findings offer valuable insights and serve as guidelines for the development of stretchable p-n junction thermoelectric generators based on doped semiconducting polymer blends with potential applications in wearable electronics and energy harvesting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Chang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Hsuan Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Po-Shen Lin
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Shao-Huan Hong
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Huang Tung
- Institute of Polymer Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Liang Liu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
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Ding Y, Zhu Y, Wang H, Wang Y, Gu X, Wang X, Qiu L. Improving Electrical and Mechanical Properties of Blend Films via Optimizing Solution-Processable Techniques and Controlling the Semiconductor Molecular Weight. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c00765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yafei Ding
- National Engineering Lab of Special Display Technology, Special Display and Imaging Technology Innovation Center of Anhui Province, Academy of Opto-Electronic Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
- Intelligent Interconnected Systems Laboratory of Anhui, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Measuring Theory and Precision Instrument, School of Instrument Science and Opto-Electronic Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Yingman Zhu
- National Engineering Lab of Special Display Technology, Special Display and Imaging Technology Innovation Center of Anhui Province, Academy of Opto-Electronic Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
- Intelligent Interconnected Systems Laboratory of Anhui, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Measuring Theory and Precision Instrument, School of Instrument Science and Opto-Electronic Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Heng Wang
- National Engineering Lab of Special Display Technology, Special Display and Imaging Technology Innovation Center of Anhui Province, Academy of Opto-Electronic Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
- Intelligent Interconnected Systems Laboratory of Anhui, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Measuring Theory and Precision Instrument, School of Instrument Science and Opto-Electronic Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Yunfei Wang
- School of Polymer Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406, United States
| | - Xiaodan Gu
- School of Polymer Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406, United States
| | - Xiaohong Wang
- National Engineering Lab of Special Display Technology, Special Display and Imaging Technology Innovation Center of Anhui Province, Academy of Opto-Electronic Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
- Intelligent Interconnected Systems Laboratory of Anhui, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Measuring Theory and Precision Instrument, School of Instrument Science and Opto-Electronic Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Longzhen Qiu
- National Engineering Lab of Special Display Technology, Special Display and Imaging Technology Innovation Center of Anhui Province, Academy of Opto-Electronic Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
- Intelligent Interconnected Systems Laboratory of Anhui, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Measuring Theory and Precision Instrument, School of Instrument Science and Opto-Electronic Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
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Zheng Y, Zhang S, Tok JBH, Bao Z. Molecular Design of Stretchable Polymer Semiconductors: Current Progress and Future Directions. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:4699-4715. [PMID: 35262336 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c00072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Stretchable polymer semiconductors have advanced rapidly in the past decade as materials required to realize conformable and soft skin-like electronics become available. Through rational molecular-level design, stretchable polymer semiconductor films are now able to retain their electrical functionalities even when subjected to repeated mechanical deformations. Furthermore, their charge-carrier mobilities are on par with the best flexible polymer semiconductors, with some even exceeding that of amorphous silicon. The key advancements are molecular-design concepts that allow multiple strain energy-dissipation mechanisms, while maintaining efficient charge-transport pathways over multiple length scales. In this perspective article, we review recent approaches to confer stretchability to polymer semiconductors while maintaining high charge carrier mobilities, with emphasis on the control of both polymer-chain dynamics and thin-film morphology. Additionally, we present molecular design considerations toward intrinsically elastic semiconductors that are needed for reliable device operation under reversible and repeated deformation. A general approach involving inducing polymer semiconductor nanoconfinement allows for incorporation of several other desired functionalities, such as biodegradability, self-healing, and photopatternability, while enhancing the charge transport. Lastly, we point out future directions, including advancing the fundamental understanding of morphology evolution and its correlation with the change of charge transport under strain, and needs for strain-resilient polymer semiconductors with high mobility retention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zheng
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States.,Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Song Zhang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Jeffrey B-H Tok
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Zhenan Bao
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
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Wei P, Shen Z, Qin X, Zhang P, Bu L, Chen Q, Roth SV, Lu G. Improving Charge Injection at Gold/Conjugated Polymer Contacts by Polymer Insulator-Assisted Annealing for Transistors. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2105896. [PMID: 34913586 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202105896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The poor chemical miscibility between metal and organic materials usually leads to both structural and energetic mismatches at gold/organic interfaces, and thereby, high contact resistance of organic electronic devices. This study shows that the contact resistance of organic field-effect transistors is significantly reduced by one order of magnitude, by reforming the contact interface between gold electrodes and conjugated polymers upon a polymer insulator-assisted thermal annealing. Upon an optimized solution process, the conjugated polymer is homogenously distributed within the amorphous polymer insulator matrix with relatively low glass transition temperature, and thus, even a moderate annealing temperature can induce sufficient motion of conjugated polymer chains to simultaneously adjust the polymer orientation and improve the packing of gold atoms. Consequently, gold/conjugated polymer contact is reorganized after annealing, which improves both charge transport from bulk gold to interface and charge injection from gold into conjugated polymers. This method, with appropriate insulator matrix, is effective for improving the injection of both holes and electrons, and widely applicable for many unipolar and ambipolar conjugated polymers to optimize the device performance and simultaneously increase the optical transparency (over 80%). A frequency doubler and a phase modulator are demonstrated, respectively, using the ambipolar transistors with optimized charge injection properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, and Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China
| | - Zichao Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, and Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China
| | - Xinsu Qin
- School of Chemistry, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- School of Material Science and Engineering, PCFM Lab, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510275, China
| | - Laju Bu
- School of Chemistry, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China
| | - Qing Chen
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestr. 85, D-22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stephan V Roth
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestr. 85, D-22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Guanghao Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, and Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China
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