1
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Ferreira R, Silva AP, Nunes-Pereira J. Current On-Skin Flexible Sensors, Materials, Manufacturing Approaches, and Study Trends for Health Monitoring: A Review. ACS Sens 2024; 9:1104-1133. [PMID: 38394033 PMCID: PMC10964246 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.3c02555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Due to an ever-increasing amount of the population focusing more on their personal health, thanks to rising living standards, there is a pressing need to improve personal healthcare devices. These devices presently require laborious, time-consuming, and convoluted procedures that heavily rely on cumbersome equipment, causing discomfort and pain for the patients during invasive methods such as sample-gathering, blood sampling, and other traditional benchtop techniques. The solution lies in the development of new flexible sensors with temperature, humidity, strain, pressure, and sweat detection and monitoring capabilities, mimicking some of the sensory capabilities of the skin. In this review, a comprehensive presentation of the themes regarding flexible sensors, chosen materials, manufacturing processes, and trends was made. It was concluded that carbon-based composite materials, along with graphene and its derivates, have garnered significant interest due to their electromechanical stability, extraordinary electrical conductivity, high specific surface area, variety, and relatively low cost.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo
G. Ferreira
- C-MAST, Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace
Science and Technologies, Universidade da
Beira Interior, Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
| | - Abílio P. Silva
- C-MAST, Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace
Science and Technologies, Universidade da
Beira Interior, Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
| | - João Nunes-Pereira
- C-MAST, Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace
Science and Technologies, Universidade da
Beira Interior, Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
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2
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Liu A, Lee M, Venkatesh R, Bonsu JA, Volkovinsky R, Meredith JC, Reichmanis E, Grover MA. Conjugated Polymer Process Ontology and Experimental Data Repository for Organic Field-Effect Transistors. CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS : A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 2023; 35:8816-8826. [PMID: 38027538 PMCID: PMC10653076 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c01842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Polymer-based semiconductors and organic electronics encapsulate a significant research thrust for informatics-driven materials development. However, device measurements are described by a complex array of design and parameter choices, many of which are sparsely reported. For example, the mobility of a polymer-based organic field-effect transistor (OFET) may vary by several orders of magnitude for a given polymer as a plethora of parameters related to solution processing, interface design/surface treatment, thin-film deposition, postprocessing, and measurement settings have a profound effect on the value of the final measurement. Incomplete contextual, experimental details hamper the availability of reusable data applicable for data-driven optimization, modeling (e.g., machine learning), and analysis of new organic devices. To curate organic device databases that contain reproducible and findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) experimental data records, data ontologies that fully describe sample provenance and process history are required. However, standards for generating such process ontologies are not widely adopted for experimental materials domains. In this work, we design and implement an object-relational database for storing experimental records of OFETs. A data structure is generated by drawing on an international standard for batch process control (ISA-88) to facilitate the design. We then mobilize these representative data records, curated from the literature and laboratory experiments, to enable data-driven learning of process-structure-property relationships. The work presented herein opens the door for the broader adoption of data management practices and design standards for both the organic electronics and the wider materials community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron
L. Liu
- School
of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Myeongyeon Lee
- Department
of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Lehigh University, 124 East Morton Street, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Rahul Venkatesh
- School
of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Jessica A. Bonsu
- School
of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Ron Volkovinsky
- School
of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - J. Carson Meredith
- School
of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Elsa Reichmanis
- Department
of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Lehigh University, 124 East Morton Street, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Martha A. Grover
- School
of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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3
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Kim J, Chung W, Kim D, Kang J, Grandes Reyes CF, Jeong J, Kim KT. Semi-conductive micellar networks of all-conjugated diblock and triblock copolymer blends. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:3578-3581. [PMID: 36883350 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc00081h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
The crystallization-driven self-assembly of the blends of the all-conjugated block copolymers of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly(3-ethylhexylthiophene) (P3EHT) results in the cross-linking of the one-dimensional nanowires of P3HT-b-P3EHT, which is achieved by intercalating P3HT-b-P3EHT-b-P3HT into the nanowire cores. The micellar networks constitute flexible and porous materials that conduct electricity upon doping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junyoung Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, South Korea.
| | - Wooyeol Chung
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, South Korea.
| | - Dogyun Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, South Korea.
| | - Junwoo Kang
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, South Korea.
| | | | - Jisu Jeong
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, South Korea.
| | - Kyoung Taek Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, South Korea.
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4
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Enhanced Nitric Oxide Sensing Performance of Conjugated Polymer Films through Incorporation of Graphitic Carbon Nitride. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24021158. [PMID: 36674668 PMCID: PMC9864893 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Organic field-effect transistor (OFET) gas sensors based on conjugated polymer films have recently attracted considerable attention for use in environmental monitoring applications. However, the existing devices are limited by their poor sensing performance for gas analytes. This drawback is attributed to the low charge transport in and the limited charge-analyte interaction of the conjugated polymers. Herein, we demonstrate that the incorporation of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) into the conjugated polymer matrix can improve the sensing performance of OFET gas sensors. Moreover, the effect of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) on the gas sensing properties of OFET sensors based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), a conjugated polymer, was systematically investigated by changing the concentration of the g-C₃N₄ in the P3HT/g-C₃N₄ composite films. The obtained films were applied in OFET to detect NO gas at room temperature. In terms of the results, first, the P3HT/g-C₃N₄ composite films containing 10 wt.% g-C₃N₄ exhibited a maximum charge carrier mobility of ~1.1 × 10-1 cm2 V-1 S-1, which was approximately five times higher than that of pristine P3HT films. The fabricated P3HT/g-C₃N₄ composite film based OFET sensors presented significantly enhanced NO gas sensing characteristics compared to those of the bare P3HT sensor. In particular, the sensors based on the P3HT/g-C₃N₄ (90/10) composite films exhibited the best sensing performance relative to that of the bare P3HT sensor when exposed to 10 ppm NO gas: responsivity = 40.6 vs. 18.1%, response time = 129 vs. 142 s, and recovery time = 148 vs. 162 s. These results demonstrate the enormous promise of g-C₃N₄ as a gas sensing material that can be hybridized with conjugated polymers to efficiently detect gas analytes.
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5
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Song T, Wu X, Xu J, Ye H, Shi W. Two-Level Optical Birefringence Created by Evaporation-Induced Polymer Crystallization in Sessile Droplets. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c02247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tiantian Song
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education; Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Xiaoxue Wu
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education; Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Jun Xu
- Advanced Materials Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Haimu Ye
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of New Energy and Materials, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
| | - Weichao Shi
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education; Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin 300071, China
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6
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Chen S, Zheng H, Liu X, Peng J. Tailoring Co-crystallization over Microphase Separation in Conjugated Block Copolymers via Rational Film Processing for Field-Effect Transistors. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c02048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shuwen Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Hao Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Xiaofeng Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Juan Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
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7
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Kwok JJ, Vishwanathan G, Park KS, Patel BB, Zhao D, Juarez G, Diao Y. Understanding the Aggregation and Flow Response of Donor–Acceptor Conjugated Polymers. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justin J. Kwok
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 1304 W. Green St., Urbana, Illinois61801, United States
| | - Giridar Vishwanathan
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 1206 W. Green St., Urbana, Illinois61801, United States
| | - Kyung Sun Park
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, Illinois61801, United States
| | - Bijal B. Patel
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, Illinois61801, United States
| | - Dongqi Zhao
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, Illinois61801, United States
| | - Gabriel Juarez
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 1206 W. Green St., Urbana, Illinois61801, United States
| | - Ying Diao
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 1304 W. Green St., Urbana, Illinois61801, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, Illinois61801, United States
- Beckman Institute, Molecular Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 405 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, Illinois61801, United States
- Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, 104 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, Illinois61801, United States
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8
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Crystallization of D-A Conjugated Polymers: A Review of Recent Research. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:polym14214612. [DOI: 10.3390/polym14214612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
D-A conjugated polymers are key materials for organic solar cells and organic thin-film transistors, and their film structure is one of the most important factors in determining device performance. The formation of film structure largely depends on the crystallization process, but the crystallization of D-A conjugated polymers is not well understood. In this review, we attempted to achieve a clearer understanding of the crystallization of D-A conjugated polymers. We first summarized the features of D-A conjugated polymers, which can affect their crystallization process. Then, the crystallization process of D-A conjugated polymers was discussed, including the possible chain conformations in the solution as well as the nucleation and growth processes. After that, the crystal structure of D-A conjugated polymers, including the molecular orientation and polymorphism, was reviewed. We proposed that the nucleation process and the orientation of the nuclei on the substrate are critical for the crystal structure. Finally, we summarized the possible crystal morphologies of D-A conjugated polymers and explained their formation process in terms of nucleation and growth processes. This review provides fundamental knowledge on how to manipulate the crystallization process of D-A conjugated polymers to regulate their film structure.
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9
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Memon WA, Zhang Y, Zhang J, Yan Y, Wang Y, Wei Z. Alignment of organic conjugated molecules for high-performance device applications. Macromol Rapid Commun 2022; 43:e2100931. [PMID: 35338681 DOI: 10.1002/marc.202100931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
High-performance organic semiconductor materials as the electroactive components of optoelectronic devices have attracted much attention and made them ideal candidates for solution-processable, large-area, and low-cost flexible electronics. Especially, organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on conjugated semiconductor materials have experienced stunning progress in device performance. To make these materials economically viable, comprehensive knowledge of charge transport mechanisms is required. The alignment of organic conjugated molecules in the active layer is vital to charge transport properties of devices. The present review highlights the recent progress of processing-structure-transport correlations that allow the precise and uniform alignment of organic conjugated molecules over large areas for multiple electronic applications, including OFETs, organic thermoelectric devices (OTEs), and organic phototransistors (OPTs). Different strategies for regulating crystallinity and macroscopic orientation of conjugated molecules are introduced to correlate the molecular packing, the device performance and charge transport anisotropy in multiple organic electronic devices. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Waqar Ali Memon
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Yajie Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Jianqi Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Yangjun Yan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Yuheng Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Zhixiang Wei
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China
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10
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Hwang SH, Kang SY, Yang S, Lee J, Choi TL. Synchronous Preparation of Length-Controllable 1D Nanoparticles via Crystallization-Driven In Situ Nanoparticlization of Conjugated Polymers. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:5921-5929. [PMID: 35271264 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c13385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Precise size control of semiconducting nanomaterials from polymers is crucial for optoelectronic applications, but the low solubility of conjugated polymers makes this challenging. Herein, we prepared length-controlled semiconducting one-dimensional (1D) nanoparticles by synchronous self-assembly during polymerization. First, we succeeded in unprecedented living polymerization of highly soluble conjugated poly(3,4-dihexylthiophene). Then, block copolymerization of poly(3,4-dihexylthiophene)-block-polythiophene spontaneously produced narrow-dispersed 1D nanoparticles with lengths from 15 to 282 nm according to the size of a crystalline polythiophene core. The key factors for high efficiency and length control are a highly solubilizing shell and slow polymerization of the core, thereby favoring nucleation elongation over isodesmic growth. Combining kinetics and high-resolution imaging analyses, we propose a unique mechanism called crystallization-driven in situ nanoparticlization of conjugated polymers (CD-INCP) where spontaneous nucleation creates seeds, followed by seeded growth in units of micelles. Also, we achieved "living" CD-INCP through a chain-extension experiment. We further simplified CD-INCP by adding both monomers together in one-shot copolymerization but still producing length-controlled nanoparticles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soon-Hyeok Hwang
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Sung-Yun Kang
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Sanghee Yang
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Jaeho Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Tae-Lim Choi
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
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11
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Semiconducting Polymer Nanowires with Highly Aligned Molecules for Polymer Field Effect Transistors. ELECTRONICS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/electronics11040648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Conjugated polymers have emerged as promising materials for next-generation electronics. However, in spite of having several advantages, such as a low cost, large area processability and flexibility, polymer-based electronics have their own limitations concerning low electrical performance. To achieve high-performance polymer electronic devices, various strategies have been suggested, including aligning polymer backbones in the desired orientation. In the present paper, we report a simple patterning technique using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mold that can fabricate highly aligned nanowires of a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based donor–acceptor-type copolymer (poly (diketopyrrolopyrrole-alt-thieno [3,2-b] thiophene), DPP-DTT) for high-performance field effect transistors. The morphology of the patterns was controlled by changing the concentration of the DPP-based copolymer solution (1, 3, 5 mg mL−1). The molecular alignment properties of three different patterns were observed with a polarized optical microscope, polarized UV-vis spectroscopy and an X-ray diffractometer. DPP-DTT nanowires made with 1 mg mL−1 solution are highly aligned and the polymer field-effect transistors based on nanowires exhibit more than a five times higher charge carrier mobility as compared to spin-coated film-based devices.
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12
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Effects of MEH-PPV Molecular Ordering in the Emitting Layer on the Luminescence Efficiency of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26092512. [PMID: 33923106 PMCID: PMC8123485 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26092512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated the effects of molecular ordering on the electro-optical characteristics of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with an emission layer (EML) of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV). The EML was fabricated by a solution process which can make molecules ordered. The performance of the OLED devices with the molecular ordering method was compared to that obtained through fabrication by a conventional spin coating method. The turn-on voltage and the luminance of the conventional OLEDs were 5 V and 34.75 cd/m2, whereas those of the proposed OLEDs were 4.5 V and 120.3 cd/m2, respectively. The underlying mechanism of the higher efficiency with ordered molecules was observed by analyzing the properties of the EML layer using AFM, SE, XRD, and an LCR meter. We confirmed that the electrical properties of the organic thin film can be improved by controlling the molecular ordering of the EML, which plays an important role in the electrical characteristics of the OLED.
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13
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He J, Liu Y, Liu F, Zhou J, Huo H. Roles of solution concentration and shear rate in the shear-induced crystallization of P3HT. RSC Adv 2021; 11:19673-19681. [PMID: 35479231 PMCID: PMC9033596 DOI: 10.1039/d1ra02594e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Microfluidic shear can induce the formation of flow-induced precursors (FIPs) of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) in toluene. The shear temperature, solution concentration and shear rate determine the FIP content. The FIP is metastable. Upon fixing the shear rate at 1.0 s−1 and the shear temperature at 60 °C (or 80 °C for a 5.0 mg mL−1 solution), when the shear stress σ exceeds the critical values, a further increase in σ may destroy the formed FIP during shear, leading to the amount of FIPs first increasing when the solution concentration increases from 0.2 mg mL−1 to 0.4 mg mL−1 and then gradually decreasing with a further increase in the solution concentration from 0.7 mg mL−1 to 5.0 mg mL−1. Upon fixing the shear temperature at 60 °C (or 80 °C for a 5.0 mg mL−1 solution), the high concentration P3HT solution has high viscosity, leading to more mechanical energy being dissipated under shear, resulting in the most suitable shear rate increases with increasing solution concentration to reduce the entropy. The reduction in entropy is related to the formation of FIPs, and thus, the most suitable shear rate at which the largest FIP content can be obtained increases with increasing solution concentration. The FIP content dramatically affects the crystallization of P3HT in toluene. Increasing the FIP content can accelerate nucleation and crystallization, and change the crystallization mechanism from a second-order reaction to a first-order reaction of P3HT aggregates. The shear temperature and solution concentration determine the FIP content. Increasing FIPs can accelerate the crystallization kinetics and change the crystallization mechanism from a second-order to a first-order reaction.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaxin He
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
- P. R. China
| | - Ying Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
- P. R. China
| | - Fengquan Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
- P. R. China
| | - Jianjun Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
- P. R. China
| | - Hong Huo
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials
- College of Chemistry
- Beijing Normal University
- Beijing 100875
- P. R. China
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14
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Jangizehi A, Schmid F, Besenius P, Kremer K, Seiffert S. Defects and defect engineering in Soft Matter. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:10809-10859. [PMID: 33306078 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm01371d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Soft matter covers a wide range of materials based on linear or branched polymers, gels and rubbers, amphiphilic (macro)molecules, colloids, and self-assembled structures. These materials have applications in various industries, all highly important for our daily life, and they control all biological functions; therefore, controlling and tailoring their properties is crucial. One way to approach this target is defect engineering, which aims to control defects in the material's structure, and/or to purposely add defects into it to trigger specific functions. While this approach has been a striking success story in crystalline inorganic hard matter, both for mechanical and electronic properties, and has also been applied to organic hard materials, defect engineering is rarely used in soft matter design. In this review, we present a survey on investigations on defects and/or defect engineering in nine classes of soft matter composed of liquid crystals, colloids, linear polymers with moderate degree of branching, hyperbranched polymers and dendrimers, conjugated polymers, polymeric networks, self-assembled amphiphiles and proteins, block copolymers and supramolecular polymers. This overview proposes a promising role of this approach for tuning the properties of soft matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Jangizehi
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Department of Chemistry, Duesbergweg 10-14, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
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15
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Nie J, Wang Z, Huang X, Lu G, Feng C. Uniform Continuous and Segmented Nanofibers Containing a π-Conjugated Oligo(p-phenylene ethynylene) Core via “Living” Crystallization-Driven Self-Assembly: Importance of Oligo(p-phenylene ethynylene) Chain Length. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jiucheng Nie
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China
- School of Physical Science & Technology, ShanghaiTech University, 100 Haike Road, Shanghai 201210, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhiqin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiaoyu Huang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China
- School of Physical Science & Technology, ShanghaiTech University, 100 Haike Road, Shanghai 201210, People’s Republic of China
| | - Guolin Lu
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chun Feng
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Center for Excellence in Molecular Synthesis, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China
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16
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Jang M, Huh YI, Chang M. Effects of Solvent Vapor Annealing on Morphology and Charge Transport of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) Films Incorporated with Preformed P3HT Nanowires. Polymers (Basel) 2020; 12:polym12051188. [PMID: 32456100 PMCID: PMC7284567 DOI: 10.3390/polym12051188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
We systematically studied the influence of solvent vapor annealing on the molecular ordering, morphologies, and charge transport properties of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) thin films embedded with preformed crystalline P3HT nanowires (NWs). Solvent vapor annealing (SVA) with chloroform (CF) was found to profoundly impact on the structural and morphological changes, and thus on the charge transport characteristics, of the P3HT-NW-embedded P3HT films. With increased annealing time, the density of crystalline P3HT NWs was increased within the resultant films, and also intra- and intermolecular interactions of the corresponding films were significantly improved. As a result, the P3HT-NW-embedded P3HT films annealed with CF vapor for 20 min resulted in a maximized charge carrier mobility of ~0.102 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is higher than that of pristine P3HT films by 4.4-fold (μ = ~0.023 cm2 V−1 s−1).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingu Jang
- Department of Polymer Engineering, Graduate School, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea;
| | - Yang-Il Huh
- Department of Polymer Engineering, Graduate School, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea;
- School of Polymer Science and Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
- Correspondence: (Y.-I.H.); (M.C.); Tel.: +82-62-530-1771 (M.C.)
| | - Mincheol Chang
- Department of Polymer Engineering, Graduate School, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea;
- School of Polymer Science and Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
- Alan G. MacDiarmid Energy Research Institute, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
- Correspondence: (Y.-I.H.); (M.C.); Tel.: +82-62-530-1771 (M.C.)
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17
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Liu Y, Hu S, Liu F, Wei N, Zhou J, Li L, Huo H. Microfluidic shear‐induced conformational transition and crystallization of P3HT in toluene. POLYMER CRYSTALLIZATION 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/pcr2.10093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ying Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials, College of ChemistryBeijing Normal University Beijing People's Republic of China
| | - Shan Hu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials, College of ChemistryBeijing Normal University Beijing People's Republic of China
| | - Fengquan Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials, College of ChemistryBeijing Normal University Beijing People's Republic of China
| | - Nan Wei
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials, College of ChemistryBeijing Normal University Beijing People's Republic of China
| | - Jianjun Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials, College of ChemistryBeijing Normal University Beijing People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials, College of ChemistryBeijing Normal University Beijing People's Republic of China
| | - Hong Huo
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials, College of ChemistryBeijing Normal University Beijing People's Republic of China
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18
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Hu H, Wang S, Feng X, Pauly M, Decher G, Long Y. In-plane aligned assemblies of 1D-nanoobjects: recent approaches and applications. Chem Soc Rev 2020; 49:509-553. [DOI: 10.1039/c9cs00382g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
One-dimensional (1D) nanoobjects have strongly anisotropic physical properties which are averaged out and cannot be exploited in disordered systems. We reviewed the in plane alignment approaches and potential applications with perspectives shared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hebing Hu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering
- Nanyang Technological University
- Singapore
- Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE)
- Nanomaterials for Energy and Energy-Water Nexus (NEW)
| | - Shancheng Wang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering
- Nanyang Technological University
- Singapore
- Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE)
- Nanomaterials for Energy and Energy-Water Nexus (NEW)
| | - Xueling Feng
- Key Laboratory of Science and Technology of Eco-Textile
- Ministry of Education
- College of Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
- Donghua University
| | - Matthias Pauly
- Université de Strasbourg
- CNRS
- Institut Charles Sadron
- F-67000 Strasbourg
- France
| | - Gero Decher
- Université de Strasbourg
- CNRS
- Institut Charles Sadron
- F-67000 Strasbourg
- France
| | - Yi Long
- School of Materials Science and Engineering
- Nanyang Technological University
- Singapore
- Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE)
- Nanomaterials for Energy and Energy-Water Nexus (NEW)
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19
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Zhang L, Zhao K, Li H, Zhang T, Liu D, Han Y. Liquid Crystal Ordering on Conjugated Polymers Film Morphology for High Performance. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/polb.24885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryChangchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun People's Republic of China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei People's Republic of China
| | - Kefeng Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryChangchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun People's Republic of China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei People's Republic of China
| | - Hongxiang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryChangchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun People's Republic of China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei People's Republic of China
| | - Tao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryChangchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun People's Republic of China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei People's Republic of China
| | - Duo Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryChangchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun People's Republic of China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei People's Republic of China
| | - Yanchun Han
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and ChemistryChangchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun People's Republic of China
- University of Science and Technology of China Hefei People's Republic of China
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20
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Cao X, Zhao K, Chen L, Liu J, Han Y. Conjugated polymer single crystals and nanowires. POLYMER CRYSTALLIZATION 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/pcr2.10064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Xinxiu Cao
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials for New Energy Storage and Conversion, School of Materials Science and EngineeringHunan University of Science and Technology Xiangtan P. R. China
| | - Kefeng Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun P. R. China
| | - Liang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun P. R. China
| | - Jiangang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun P. R. China
| | - Yanchun Han
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied ChemistryChinese Academy of Sciences Changchun P. R. China
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21
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Choi S, Jeong JW, Jo G, Ma BC, Chang M. Conjugated polymer/paraffin blends for organic field-effect transistors with high environmental stability. NANOSCALE 2019; 11:10004-10016. [PMID: 31080983 DOI: 10.1039/c9nr02425e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Improving the environmental stability of conjugated polymers remains a fundamental challenge that limits their widespread adoption and commercial application in electronic and photonic devices. Although paraffin can have excellent barrier properties against moisture in ambient air, the use of conjugated polymer/paraffin blends to fabricate organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) with high environmental stability has not been attempted. Here, we demonstrate that conjugated polymer/paraffin blends can greatly enhance the environmental stability of OFETs. Compared to conventional systems such as poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/polystyrene and P3HT/polydimethylsiloxane blends, P3HT/paraffin blends exhibit superior environmental stability after 30 days of exposure to the ambient atmosphere. Furthermore, the conjugated polymer/paraffin blends provide stable electronic properties under severe mechanical deformation [a strain (ε) of ∼150%], overcoming a critical challenge arising from the use of fragile crystalline conjugated polymer films for flexible and stretchable electronic devices. In comparison with a conventional spin-coating method, a shear-coating technique provides enhanced molecular ordering and alignment, resulting in improved charge carrier mobility in the blend film OFETs. In particular, shearing in the evaporation regime improves the molecular ordering and alignment of the blend films more than shearing in the Landau-Levich regime. Interestingly, the environmental stability of the sheared blend films varies depending on the shear speed. Specifically, OFETs based on blend films sheared at 0.5 and 6.0-10.0 mm s-1 exhibit excellent environmental stability, maintaining 80% of their initial mobility after 30 days of exposure to air. In contrast, the environmental stability of the OFETs decreases considerably when the blend films are sheared at 1.0-4.0 mm s-1; the mobility decreases to as low as ∼20% of the initial value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solip Choi
- Department of Polymer Engineering, Graduate School, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, South Korea.
| | - Jae Won Jeong
- Department of Polymer Engineering, Graduate School, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, South Korea.
| | - Gyounglyul Jo
- Department of Polymer Engineering, Graduate School, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, South Korea.
| | - Byung Chol Ma
- School of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, South Korea
| | - Mincheol Chang
- Department of Polymer Engineering, Graduate School, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, South Korea. and School of Polymer Science and Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, South Korea and Alan G. MacDiarmid Energy Research Institute, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, South Korea
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22
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Guo S, Lu Y, Wang B, Shen C, Chen J, Reiter G, Zhang B. Controlling the pore size in conjugated polymer films via crystallization-driven phase separation. SOFT MATTER 2019; 15:2981-2989. [PMID: 30912567 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm00370c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
A wide range of possible applications in sensors and optoelectronic devices have focused considerable attention on porous membranes made of semi-conducting polymers. In this study, porous films of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) were conveniently constructed through spin-coating of solutions of a blend of P3HT and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Pores were formed by phase separation driven simultaneously by incompatibility and crystallization. The influence of the polymer concentration (c), molecular weight (Mn) and spin-coating temperature (Tsp) on the pore size and structure was investigated. With increasing c from 0.5 to 5.0 wt%, the pore diameter (d) varied from ≈1.3 μm to ≈38 μm. Similarly, we observed a substantial increase of d with increasing Mn of PEG, while changing Mn of P3HT did not affect d. Micron- and nano-scale pores coexisted in porous P3HT films. While incompatibility of P3HT and PEG caused the formation of nano-pores, micron-scale pores resulted from crystallization in the PEG-rich domains by forcing PEG molecules to diffuse from the surrounding PEG-P3HT blend region to the crystal growth front.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaowen Guo
- School of Materials Science & Engineering, Henan Province Industrial Technology Research Institute of Resources and Materials, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450002, People's Republic of China.
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23
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Controlled Self-Assembly of Conjugated Polymers via a Solvent Vapor Pre-Treatment for Use in Organic Field-Effect Transistors. Polymers (Basel) 2019; 11:polym11020332. [PMID: 30960316 PMCID: PMC6419207 DOI: 10.3390/polym11020332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 02/11/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A facile solution-processing strategy toward well-ordered one-dimensional nanostructures of conjugated polymers via a non-solvent vapor treatment was demonstrated, which resulted in enhancements to the charge transport characteristics of the polymers. The amount of crystalline poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanofibers was precisely controlled by simply varying the exposure time of solutions of P3HT solutions to non-solvent vapor. The effects of non-solvent vapor exposure on the molecular ordering and morphologies of the resultant P3HT films were systematically investigated using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, polarized optical microscopy (POM), grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The non-solvent vapor facilitates the π–π stacking in P3HT to minimize unfavorable interactions between the poor solvent molecules and P3HT chains. P3HT films deposited from the non-solvent vapor-treated P3HT solutions exhibited an approximately 5.6-fold improvement in charge carrier mobility as compared to that of pristine P3HT films (7.8 × 10−2 cm2 V−1 s−1 vs. 1.4 × 10−2 cm2 V−1 s−1). The robust and facile strategy presented herein would be applicable in various opto-electronics applications requiring precise control of the molecular assembly, such as organic photovoltaic cells, field-effect transistors, light-emitting diodes, and sensors.
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24
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Jo G, Jeong JW, Choi S, Kim H, Park JJ, Jung J, Chang M. Large-Scale Alignment of Polymer Semiconductor Nanowires for Efficient Charge Transport via Controlled Evaporation of Confined Fluids. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2019; 11:1135-1142. [PMID: 30520290 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b18055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Long-range alignment of conjugated polymers is as critical as polymer chain packing for achieving efficient charge transport in polymer thin films used in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here, the present study reports a facile, scalable strategy that enables the deposition of macroscopically aligned polymer semiconductor nanowire (NW)-array films with highly enhanced charge carrier mobility, using a modified controlled evaporative self-assembly (MCESA) technique. Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on highly oriented poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-NW films exhibit more than 10-fold enhancement of carrier mobility, with the highest mobility of 0.13 cm2 V-1 s-1, compared to the OFETs based on pristine P3HT films. Significantly, large-area aligned P3HT NW-films, which are deposited over 12 arrays of transistors on a 4 in. wafer by an MCESA coating, result in lower device performance variation (i.e., standard deviation ≈ ±0.0172 (16%) cm2 V-1 s-1) as well as an excellent average device performance (i.e., average charge mobility ≈ 0.11 cm2 V-1 s-1), compared to those obtained using the conventional CESA coating, overcoming a critical challenge in the field of OFETs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Jaehan Jung
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering , Hongik University , Sejong 30016 , South Korea
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25
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Solving Materials’ Small Data Problem with Dynamic Experimental Databases. Processes (Basel) 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/pr6070079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
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26
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Jeong JW, Jo G, Choi S, Kim YA, Yoon H, Ryu SW, Jung J, Chang M. Solvent Additive-Assisted Anisotropic Assembly and Enhanced Charge Transport of π-Conjugated Polymer Thin Films. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2018; 10:18131-18140. [PMID: 29726258 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b03221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Charge transport in π-conjugated polymer films involves π-π interactions within or between polymer chains. Here, we demonstrate a facile solution processing strategy that provides enhanced intra- and interchain π-π interactions of the resultant polymer films using a good solvent additive with low volatility. These increased interactions result in enhanced charge transport properties. The effect of the good solvent additive on the intra- and intermolecular interactions, morphologies, and charge transport properties of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) films is systematically investigated. We found that the good solvent additive facilitates the self-assembly of P3HT chains into crystalline fibrillar nanostructures by extending the solvent drying time during thin-film formation. As compared to the prior approach using a nonsolvent additive with low volatility, the solvent blend system containing a good solvent additive results in enhanced charge transport in P3HT organic field-effect transistor (OFET) devices [from ca. 1.7 × 10-2 to ca. 8.2 × 10-2 cm2 V-1 s-1 for dichlorobenzene (DCB) versus 4.4 × 10-2 cm2 V-1 s-1 for acetonitrile]. The mobility appears to be maximized over a broad spectrum of additive concentrations (1-7 vol %), indicative of a wide processing window. Detailed analysis results regarding the charge injection and transport characteristics of the OFET devices reveal that a high-boiling-point solvent additive decreases both the contact resistance ( Rc) and channel resistance ( Rch), contributing to the mobility enhancement of the devices. Finally, the platform presented here is proven to be applicable to alternative good solvent additives with low volatility, such as chlorobenzene (CB) and trichlorobenzene (TCB). Specifically, the mobility enhancement of the resultant P3HT films increases in the order CB (bp 131 °C) < DCB (bp 180 °C) < TCB (bp 214 °C), suggesting that solvent additives with higher boiling points provide resultant films with preferable molecular ordering and morphologies for efficient charge transport.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Jaehan Jung
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering , Hongik University , Sejongsi 30016 , South Korea
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27
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Patel BB, Diao Y. Multiscale assembly of solution-processed organic electronics: the critical roles of confinement, fluid flow, and interfaces. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2018; 29:044004. [PMID: 29176055 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/aa9d7c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Organic semiconducting small molecules and polymers provide a rich phase space for investigating the fundamentals of molecular and hierarchical assembly. Stemming from weak intermolecular interactions, their assembly sensitively depends on processing conditions, which in turn drastically modulate their electronic properties. Much work has gone into molecular design strategies that maximize intermolecular interactions and encourage close packing. Less understood, however, is the non-equilibrium assembly that occurs during the fabrication process (especially solution coating and printing) which is critical to determining thin film morphology across length scales. This encompasses polymorphism and molecular packing at molecular scale, assembly of π-bonding aggregates at the tens of nanometers scale, and the formation of domains at the micron-millimeter device scale. Here, we discuss three phenomena ubiquitous in solution processing of organic electronic thin films: the confinement effect, fluid flows, and interfacial assembly and the role they play in directing assembly. This review focuses on the mechanistic understanding of how assembly outcomes couple closely to the solution processing environment, supported by salient examples from the recent literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bijal B Patel
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, United States of America
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28
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Bilger D, Figueroa JA, Redeker ND, Sarkar A, Stefik M, Zhang S. Hydrogen-Bonding-Directed Ordered Assembly of Carboxylated Poly(3-Alkylthiophene)s. ACS OMEGA 2017; 2:8526-8535. [PMID: 31457389 PMCID: PMC6645037 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.7b01361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Hydrogen-bonding-induced ordered assembly of poly(3-alkylthiophene)s derivatives bearing carboxylic acid groups has been investigated from diluted and concentrated solutions to solid films using ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, polarized optical microscopy, and four-point probe conductivity measurements. In dilute solutions, the polymer undergoes a spontaneous structural transition from disordered coil-like to ordered rodlike conformations, which is evidenced by time-dependent chromism. Many factors such as alkyl-chain length, types of solvents, and temperature are studied to understand the assembly behavior. Transition kinetics of the assembly process reveals a universal second-order rate law, indicating an intermolecular origin due to hydrogen bonding. When more concentrated, hydrogen bonding drives nematic liquid-crystalline gelation above a critical concentration and the gels are thermally reversible. Under an appropriate balance of mechanical and thermal stresses, uniform liquid-crystalline monodomains are obtained through the application of a mechanical shear force. The dried films made from the sheared solutions display both optical and electrical anisotropies, with a more than 200% increase in charge transport parallel to the direction of shear as opposed to that in the perpendicular one.
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Affiliation(s)
- David
W. Bilger
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California
Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California 93407, United States
| | - Jose A. Figueroa
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California
Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California 93407, United States
| | - Neil D. Redeker
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California
Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California 93407, United States
| | - Amrita Sarkar
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Morgan Stefik
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Shanju Zhang
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California
Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California 93407, United States
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29
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Persson NE, Rafshoon J, Naghshpour K, Fast T, Chu PH, McBride M, Risteen B, Grover M, Reichmanis E. High-Throughput Image Analysis of Fibrillar Materials: A Case Study on Polymer Nanofiber Packing, Alignment, and Defects in Organic Field Effect Transistors. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2017; 9:36090-36102. [PMID: 28952712 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b10510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
High-throughput discovery of process-structure-property relationships in materials through an informatics-enabled empirical approach is an increasingly utilized technique in materials research due to the rapidly expanding availability of data. Here, process-structure-property relationships are extracted for the nucleation, growth, and deposition of semiconducting poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanofibers used in organic field effect transistors, via high-throughput image analysis. This study is performed using an automated image analysis pipeline combining existing open-source software and new algorithms, enabling the rapid evaluation of structural metrics for images of fibrillar materials, including local orientational order, fiber length density, and fiber length distributions. We observe that microfluidic processing leads to fibers that pack with unusually high density, while sonication yields fibers that pack sparsely with low alignment. This is attributed to differences in their crystallization mechanisms. P3HT nanofiber packing during thin film deposition exhibits behavior suggesting that fibers are confined to packing in two-dimensional layers. We find that fiber alignment, a feature correlated with charge carrier mobility, is driven by increasing fiber length, and that shorter fibers tend to segregate to the buried dielectric interface during deposition, creating potentially performance-limiting defects in alignment. Another barrier to perfect alignment is the curvature of P3HT fibers; we propose a mechanistic simulation of fiber growth that reconciles both this curvature and the log-normal distribution of fiber lengths inherent to the fiber populations under consideration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils E Persson
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, §School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and ∥School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Joshua Rafshoon
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, §School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and ∥School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Kaylie Naghshpour
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, §School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and ∥School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Tony Fast
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, §School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and ∥School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Ping-Hsun Chu
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, §School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and ∥School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Michael McBride
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, §School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and ∥School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Bailey Risteen
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, §School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and ∥School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Martha Grover
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, §School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and ∥School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Elsa Reichmanis
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, §School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and ∥School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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30
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Control of Molecular Ordering, Alignment, and Charge Transport in Solution-Processed Conjugated Polymer Thin Films. Polymers (Basel) 2017; 9:polym9060212. [PMID: 30970891 PMCID: PMC6432227 DOI: 10.3390/polym9060212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2017] [Revised: 06/06/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Morphology of conjugated polymers is a critical factor that significantly affects intrinsic charge transport characteristics and in turn performance of polymer-based devices. Morphological defects including misaligned crystalline grains and grain boundaries significantly impede efficient charge hopping between transport sites, resulting in degradation of device performance. Therefore, one important challenge is to control morphology of active polymer thin-films for achieving high performance flexible electronic devices. In the past decade, significant progress has been achieved in morphology control of conjugated polymer thin-films using solution-based processing techniques. This review focuses on recent advances in processing strategies that can tune the morphologies and thus impact charge transport properties of conjugated polymer thin films. Of the available processing strategies, polymer solution treatments and film deposition techniques will be mainly highlighted. The correlation between processing conditions, active layer morphologies, and device performance will be also be discussed.
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Persson NE, Chu PH, McBride M, Grover M, Reichmanis E. Nucleation, Growth, and Alignment of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Nanofibers for High-Performance OFETs. Acc Chem Res 2017; 50:932-942. [PMID: 28234458 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.6b00639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Conjugated semiconducting polymers have been the subject of intense study for over two decades with promising advances toward a printable electronics manufacturing ecosystem. These materials will deliver functional electronic devices that are lightweight, flexible, large-area, and cost-effective, with applications ranging from biomedical sensors to solar cells. Synthesis of novel molecules has led to significant improvements in charge carrier mobility, a defining electrical performance metric for many applications. However, the solution processing and thin film deposition of conjugated polymers must also be properly controlled to obtain reproducible device performance. This has led to an abundance of research on the process-structure-property relationships governing the microstructural evolution of the model semicrystalline poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as applied to organic field effect transistor (OFET) fabrication. What followed was the production of an expansive body of work on the crystallization, self-assembly, and charge transport behavior of this semiflexible polymer whose strong π-π stacking interactions allow for highly creative methods of structural control, including the modulation of solvent and solution properties, flow-induced crystallization and alignment techniques, structural templating, and solid-state thermal and mechanical processing. This Account relates recent progress in the microstructural control of P3HT thin films through the nucleation, growth, and alignment of P3HT nanofibers. Solution-based nanofiber formation allows one to develop structural order prior to thin film deposition, mitigating the need for intricate deposition processes and enabling the use of batch and continuous chemical processing steps. Fiber growth is framed as a traditional crystallization problem, with the balance between nucleation and growth rates determining the fiber size and ultimately the distribution of grain boundaries in the solid state. Control of nucleation can be accomplished through a sonication-based seeding procedure, while growth can be modulated through supersaturation control via the tuning of solvent quality, the use of UV irradiation or through aging. These principles carry over to the flow-induced growth of P3HT nanofibers in a continuous microfluidic processing system, leading to thin films with significantly enhanced mobility. Further gains can be made by promoting long-range polymer chain alignment, achieved by depositing nanofibers through shear-based coating methods that promote high fiber packing density and alignment. All of these developments in processing were carried out on a standard OFET platform, enabling us to generalize quantitative structure-property relationships from structural data sources such as UV-vis, AFM, and GIWAXS. It is shown that a linear correlation exists between mobility and the in-plane orientational order of nanofibers, as extracted from AFM images using advanced computer vision software developed by our group. Herein, we discuss data-driven approaches to the determination of process-structure-property relationships, as well as the transferability of structural control strategies for P3HT to other conjugated polymer systems and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils E. Persson
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and §School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Ping-Hsun Chu
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and §School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Michael McBride
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and §School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Martha Grover
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and §School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Elsa Reichmanis
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, ‡School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and §School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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Chang M, Su Z, Egap E. Alignment and Charge Transport of One-Dimensional Conjugated Polymer Nanowires in Insulating Polymer Blends. Macromolecules 2016. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6b01721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mincheol Chang
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Zhe Su
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Eilaf Egap
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
- The
Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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Wang G, Chu PH, Fu B, He Z, Kleinhenz N, Yuan Z, Mao Y, Wang H, Reichmanis E. Conjugated Polymer Alignment: Synergisms Derived from Microfluidic Shear Design and UV Irradiation. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2016; 8:24761-24772. [PMID: 27564549 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b07548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Solution shearing has attracted great interest for the fabrication of robust and reliable, high performance organic electronic devices, owing to applicability of the method to large area and continuous fabrication, as well as its propensity to enhance semiconductor charge transport characteristics. To date, effects of the design of the blade shear features (especially the microfluidic shear design) and the prospect of synergistically combining the shear approach with an alternate process strategy have not been investigated. Here, a generic thin film fabrication concept that enhanced conjugated polymer intermolecular alignment and aggregation, improved orientation (both nanoscale and long-range), and narrowed the π-π stacking distance is demonstrated for the first time. The impact of the design of shearing blade microfluidic channels and synergistic effects of fluid shearing design with concomitant irradiation strategies were demonstrated, enabling fabrication of polymer-based devices with requisite morphologies for a range of applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Wang
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Donghua University , Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Ping-Hsun Chu
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Boyi Fu
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Zhongyuan He
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Donghua University , Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Nabil Kleinhenz
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Zhibo Yuan
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Yimin Mao
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
- NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology , 100 Bureau Dr., Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Hongzhi Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Donghua University , Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Elsa Reichmanis
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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