Effect of Alkyl Side Chain Length on Doping Kinetics, Thermopower, and Charge Transport Properties in Highly Oriented F4TCNQ-Doped PBTTT Films

Controlling conjugated polymer morphology by precise oxygen position in single-ether side chains

Recently, polar side chains have emerged as a functional tool to enhance conjugated polymer doping properties by improving the polymer miscibility with polar chemical dopants and facilitate solvated ion uptake. In this work, we design and investigate a novel family of side chains containing a single ether function, enabling the modulation of the oxygen atom position along the side chain. A meticulous investigation of this new polymer series by differential scanning calorimetry, fast scanning chip calorimetry and X-ray scattering shows that polymers bearing single-ether side chains can show high degree of crystallinity under proper conditions. Importantly, due to a gauche effect allowing the side chain to bend at the oxygen atom, the degree of crystallinity of polymers can be controlled by the position of the oxygen atom along the side chain. The further the oxygen atom is from the conjugated backbone, the more crystalline the polymer becomes. In addition, for all new polymers, high thermomechanical properties are demonstrated, leading to remarkable electrical conductivities and thermoelectric power factors in rub-aligned and sequentially doped thin films. This work confirms the potential of single-ether side chains to be used as polar solubilizing side chains for the design of a next generation of p- and n-type semiconducting polymers with increased affinity to polar dopants while maintaining high molecular order.

Ion-Exchange Doping of Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are a promising thermoelectric material with high power factors after chemical p- or n-doping. Understanding the impact of dopant counterions on charge transport and thermoelectric properties of nanotube networks is essential to further optimize doping methods and to develop better dopants. This work utilizes ion-exchange doping to systematically vary the size of counterions in thin films of small and large diameter, polymer-sorted semiconducting SWCNTs with AuCl3 as the initial p-dopant and investigates the impact of ion size on conductivity, Seebeck coefficients, and power factors. Larger anions are found to correlate with higher electrical conductivities and improved doping stability, while no significant effect on the power factors is found. Importantly, the effect of counterion size on the thermoelectric properties of dense SWCNT networks is not obscured by morphological changes upon doping. The observed trends of carrier mobilities and Seebeck coefficients can be explained by a random resistor model for the nanotube network that accounts for overlapping Coulomb potentials leading to the formation of an impurity band whose depth depends on the carrier density and counterion size. These insights can be applied more broadly to understand the thermoelectric properties of doped percolating disordered systems, including semiconducting polymers.

Non-covalent planarizing interactions yield highly ordered and thermotropic liquid crystalline conjugated polymers

Controlling the multi-level assembly and morphological properties of conjugated polymers through structural manipulation has contributed significantly to the advancement of organic electronics. In this work, a redox active conjugated polymer, TPT-TT, composed of alternating 1,4-(2-thienyl)-2,5-dialkoxyphenylene (TPT) and thienothiophene (TT) units is reported with non-covalent intramolecular S⋯O and S⋯H-C interactions that induce controlled main-chain planarity and solid-state order. As confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, these intramolecular interactions influence the main chain conformation, promoting backbone planarization, while still allowing dihedral rotations at higher kinetic energies (higher temperature), and give rise to temperature-dependent aggregation properties. Thermotropic liquid crystalline (LC) behavior is confirmed by cross-polarized optical microscopy (CPOM) and closely correlated with multiple thermal transitions observed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This LC behavior allows us to develop and utilize a thermal annealing treatment that results in thin films with notable long-range order, as shown by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD). Specifically, we identified a first LC phase, ranging from 218 °C to 107 °C, as a nematic phase featuring preferential face-on π-π stacking and edge-on lamellar stacking exhibiting a large extent of disorder and broad orientation distribution. A second LC phase is observed from 107 °C to 48 °C, as a smectic A phase featuring sharp, highly ordered out-of-plane lamellar stacking features and sharp tilted backbone stacking peaks, while the structure of a third LC phase with a transition at 48 °C remains unclear, but resembles that of the solid state at ambient temperature. Furthermore, the significance of thermal annealing is evident in the ∼3-fold enhancement of the electrical conductivity of ferric tosylate-doped annealed films reaching 55 S cm-1. More importantly, thermally annealed TPT-TT films exhibit both a narrow distribution of charge-carrier mobilities (1.4 ± 0.1) × 10-2 cm2 V-1 s-1 along with a remarkable device yield of 100% in an organic field-effect transistor (OFET) configuration. This molecular design approach to obtain highly ordered conjugated polymers in the solid state affords a deeper understanding of how intramolecular interactions and repeat-unit symmetry impact liquid crystallinity, solution aggregation, solution to solid-state transformation, solid-state morphology, and ultimately device applications.

Combination of Counterion Size and Doping Concentration Determines the Electronic and Thermoelectric Properties of Semiconducting Polymers

In both chemical and electrochemical doping of organic semiconductors (OSCs), a counterion, either from the electrolyte or ionized dopant, balances the charge introduced to the OSC. Despite the large influence of this counterion on OSC optical and electronic response, there remains substantial debate on how a fundamental parameter, ion size, impacts these properties. This work resolves much of this debate by accounting for two doping regimes. In the low-doping regime, the Coulomb binding energies between charge carriers on the OSC and the counterions are significant, and larger counterions lead to decreased Coulomb interactions, more delocalized charge carriers, and higher electrical conductivities. In the high-doping regime, the Coulomb binding energies become negligible due to the increased dielectric constant of the films and a smoothing of the energy landscape; thereby, the electrical conductivities depend primarily on the extent of morphological disorder in the OSC. Moreover, in regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene), rr-P3HT, smaller counterions lead to greater bipolaron concentrations in the low-doping regime due to the increased Coulomb interactions. Emphasizing the impact of the counterion size, it is shown that larger counterions can lead to increased thermoelectric power factors for rr-P3HT.

Role of Coulomb blockade in nonlinear transport of conducting polymers

NonlinearI-Vcharacteristics associated with Coulomb blockade (CB) in conducting polymers were systematically investigated. At low temperatures, a crossover from Ohmic to nonlinear behavior was observed, along with drastically enhanced noise in differential conductance right from the crossover. The fluctuation can be well explained by the Coulombic oscillation in the collective percolation system, where the charge transport is related to the Coulombic charging energy between crystalline domains. Furthermore, a distinct quantum conductance, the fingerprint of CB caused by the individual tunneling between crystalline grains, was observed in sub-100 nm devices, confirming a strong association between nonlinearI-Vcharacteristics and CB effect.

Meticulous Molecular Engineering of Crystal Orientation and Morphology in Conjugated Polymer Thin Films for Field-Effect Transistors

The ability to precisely tailor molecular packing and film morphology in conjugated polymers offers a robust means to control their optoelectronic properties. This, however, remains a grand challenge. Herein, we report the dependency of molecular packing of an important conjugated polymer, poly(2,5-bis(3-alkylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PBTTT), on a set of intrinsic parameters and unveil the correlation between their crystalline structures and charge transport characteristics. Specifically, a family of PBTTT with varying side chains (i.e., hexyl, octyl, decyl, dodecyl, tetradecyl, and hexadecyl referred to as C6, C8, C10, C12, C14, and C16, respectively) and molecular weights (MWs) with a focus on C14 are judiciously designed and synthesized. Various crystalline structures are yielded by tuning the alkyl chain and MW of PBTTT together with thermal annealing. It reveals that extending the alkyl chain length of PBTTT to C14, along with a larger MW and heating at 180 °C, promotes the formation of edge-on crystallites with significantly improved orientation and ordering. Furthermore, these distinct crystalline structures greatly impact their charge mobilities. This study sheds light on the tailored design of crystalline structures in PBTTT through a synergetic approach, which paves the way for potential applications of PBTTT and other conjugated polymers in optoelectronic devices with enhanced performance.

Carrier Screening Controls Transport in Conjugated Polymers at High Doping Concentrations

Transport properties of doped conjugated polymers (CPs) have been widely analyzed with the Gaussian disorder model (GDM) in conjunction with hopping transport between localized states. These models reveal that even in highly doped CPs, a majority of carriers are still localized because dielectric permittivity of CPs is well below that of inorganic materials, making Coulomb interactions between carriers and dopant counterions much more pronounced. However, previous studies within the GDM did not consider the role of screening the dielectric interactions by carriers. Here we implement carrier screening in the Debye-Hückel formalism in our calculations of dopant-induced energetic disorder, which modifies the Gaussian density of states (DOS). Then we solve the Pauli master equation using Miller-Abrahams hopping rates with states from the resulting screened DOS to obtain conductivity and Seebeck coefficient across a broad range of carrier concentrations and compare them to measurements. Our results show that screening has significant impact on the shape of the DOS and consequently on carrier transport, particularly at high doping. We prove that the slope of Seebeck coefficient versus electric conductivity, which was previously thought to be universal, is impacted by screening and decreases for systems with small dopant-carrier separation, explaining our measurements. We also show that thermoelectric power factor is underestimated by a factor of ∼10 at higher doping concentrations if screening is neglected. We conclude that carrier screening plays a crucial role in curtailing dopant-induced energetic disorder, particularly at high carrier concentrations.

Doping of molecular semiconductors through proton-coupled electron transfer

The chemical doping of molecular semiconductors is based on electron-transfer reactions between the semiconductor and dopant molecules; here, the redox potential of the dopant is key to control the Fermi level of the semiconductor1,2. The tunability and reproducibility of chemical doping are limited by the availability of dopant materials and the effects of impurities such as water. Here we focused on proton-coupled electron-transfer (PCET) reactions, which are widely used in biochemical processes3,4; their redox potentials depend on an easily handled parameter, that is, proton activity. We immersed p-type organic semiconductor thin films in aqueous solutions with PCET-based redox pairs and hydrophobic molecular ions. Synergistic reactions of PCET and ion intercalation resulted in efficient chemical doping of crystalline organic semiconductor thin films under ambient conditions. In accordance with the Nernst equation, the Fermi levels of the semiconductors were controlled reproducibly with a high degree of precision-a thermal energy of about 25 millielectronvolts at room temperature and over a few hundred millielectronvolts around the band edge. A reference-electrode-free, resistive pH sensor based on this method is also proposed. A connection between semiconductor doping and proton activity, a widely used parameter in chemical and biochemical processes, may help create a platform for ambient semiconductor processes and biomolecular electronics.

Quantifying Charge Carrier Localization in PBTTT Using Thermoelectric and Spectroscopic Techniques

Chemically doped poly[2,5-bis(3-alkylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene] (PBTTT) shows promise for many organic electronic applications, but rationalizing its charge transport properties is challenging because conjugated polymers are inhomogeneous, with convoluted optical and solid-state transport properties. Herein, we use the semilocalized transport (SLoT) model to quantify how the charge transport properties of PBTTT change as a function of iron(III) chloride (FeCl₃) doping level. We use the SLoT model to calculate fundamental transport parameters, including the carrier density needed for metal-like electrical conductivities and the position of the Fermi energy level with respect to the transport edge. We then contextualize these parameters with other polymer-dopant systems and previous PBTTT reports. Additionally, we use grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering and spectroscopic ellipsometry techniques to better characterize inhomogeneity in PBTTT. Our analyses indicate that PBTTT obtains high electrical conductivities due to its quickly rising reduced Fermi energy level, and this rise is afforded by its locally high carrier densities in highly ordered microdomains. Ultimately, this report sets a benchmark for comparing transport properties across polymer-dopant-processing systems.

Enhanced Performance of Organic Field-Effect Transistors by a Molecular Dopant with High Electron Affinity

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are attractive for next-generation electronics, while doping plays an important role in their performance optimization. In this work, a soluble molecular dopant with high electron affinity, CN6-CP, is investigated to manipulate the performance of OFETs with a p-type organic semiconductor as the transport layer. The performance of the model 2,7-didodecyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (C12-BTBT) bottom-gate top-contact (BGTC) OFETs is greatly optimized upon doping by CN6-CP, and the field-effect mobility is improved from 5.5 to 11.1 cm2 V-1 s-1, with a widely tunable threshold voltage from -40 to +5 V. Improvements in performance also appear in CN6-CP doped BGBC OFETs. As compared with commonly used molecular dopant F4-TCNQ, CN6-CP exhibits excellent doping effects and great potential for organic electronic applications.

Alignment of organic conjugated molecules for high-performance device applications

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.

Model of the Thermoelectric Properties of Anisotropic Organic Semiconductors

A model of charge hopping transport that accounts for anisotropy of localized states and Coulomb interaction between charges is proposed. For the anisotropic localized states, the degree of orientation relates exponentially to the ratio of conductivities in parallel and perpendicular directions, while the ratio of Seebeck coefficients stays nearly unaffected. However, the ratio of Seebeck coefficients increases if Coulomb interaction is screened stronger in a direction parallel to the predominant orientation of the localized states. This implies two different physical mechanisms responsible for the anisotropy of thermoelectric properties in the hopping regime: electronic state localization for conductivities and screening for Seebeck coefficients. This provides an explanation for the recent experimental findings on tensile drawn and rubbed polymer films.

Soft Organic Thermoelectric Materials: Principles, Current State of the Art and Applications

The enormous demand for waste heat utilization and burgeoning eco-friendly wearable materials has triggered huge interest in the development of thermoelectric materials that can harvest low-cost energy resources by converting waste heat to electricity efficiently. In particular, due to their high flexibility, nontoxicity, cost-effectivity, and promising applicability in various fields, organic thermoelectric materials are drawing more attention compared with their toxic, expensive, heavy, and brittle inorganic counterparts. Organic thermoelectric materials are approaching the figure of merit of the inorganic ones via the construction and optimization of unique transport pathways and device geometries. This review presents the recent development of the interdependence and decoupling principles of the thermoelectric efficiency parameters as well as the new achievements of high performance organic thermoelectric materials. Moreover, this review also discusses the advances in the thermoelectric devices with emphasis on their energy-related applications. It is believed that organic thermoelectric materials are emerging as green energy alternatives rivaling their conventional inorganic counterparts in the efficient and pure electricity harvesting from waste heat and solar thermal energy.

Achieving Efficient p-Type Organic Thermoelectrics by Modulation of Acceptor Unit in Photovoltaic π-Conjugated Copolymers

π-Conjugated donor (D)-acceptor (A) copolymers have been extensively studied as organic photovoltaic (OPV) donors yet remain largely unexplored in organic thermoelectrics (OTEs) despite their outstanding mechanical bendability, solution processability and flexible molecular design. Importantly, they feature high Seebeck coefficient (S) that are desirable in room-temperature wearable application scenarios under small temperature gradients. In this work, the authors have systematically investigated a series of D-A semiconducting copolymers possessing various electron-deficient A-units (e.g., BDD, TT, DPP) towards efficient OTEs. Upon p-type ferric chloride (FeCl3 ) doping, the relationship between the thermoelectric characteristics and the electron-withdrawing ability of A-unit is largely elucidated. It is revealed that a strong D-A nature tends to induce an energetic disorder along the π-backbone, leading to an enlarged separation of the transport and Fermi levels, and consequently an increase of S. Meanwhile, the highly electron-deficient A-unit would impair electron transfer from D-unit to p-type dopants, thus decreasing the doping efficiency and electrical conductivity (σ). Ultimately, the peak power factor (PF) at room-temperature is obtained as high as 105.5 µW m-1 K-2 with an outstanding S of 247 µV K-1 in a paradigm OPV donor PBDB-T, which holds great potential in wearable electronics driven by a small temperature gradient.

Significant Enhancement of the Electrical Conductivity of Conjugated Polymers by Post-Processing Side Chain Removal

The processability and electronic properties of conjugated polymers (CPs) have become increasingly important due to the potential of these materials in redox and solid-state devices for a broad range of applications. To solubilize CPs, side chains are needed, but such side chains reduce the relative fraction of electroactive material in the film, potentially obstructing π-π intermolecular interactions, localizing charge carriers, and compromising desirable optoelectronic properties. To reduce the deleterious effects of side chains, we demonstrate that post-processing side chain removal, exemplified here via ester hydrolysis, significantly increases the electrical conductivity of chemically doped CP films. Beginning with a model system consisting of an ester functionalized ProDOT copolymerized with a dimethylProDOT, we used a variety of methods to assess the changes in polymer film volume and morphology upon hydrolysis and resulting active material densification. Via a combination of electrochemistry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and charge transport models, we demonstrate that this increase in electrical conductivity is not due to an increase in degree of doping but an increase in charge carrier density and reduction in carrier localization that occurs due to side chain removal. With this improved understanding of side chain hydrolysis, we then apply this method to high-performance ProDOT-alt-EDOT_x copolymers. After hydrolysis, these ProDOT-alt-EDOT_x copolymers yield exceptional electrical conductivities (∼700 S/cm), outperforming all previously reported oligoether-/glycol-based CP systems. Ultimately, this methodology advances the ability to solution process highly electrically conductive CP films.

Doping Approaches for Organic Semiconductors

Electronic doping in organic materials has remained an elusive concept for several decades. It drew considerable attention in the early days in the quest for organic materials with high electrical conductivity, paving the way for the pioneering work on pristine organic semiconductors (OSCs) and their eventual use in a plethora of applications. Despite this early trend, however, recent strides in the field of organic electronics have been made hand in hand with the development and use of dopants to the point that are now ubiquitous. Here, we give an overview of all important advances in the area of doping of organic semiconductors and their applications. We first review the relevant literature with particular focus on the physical processes involved, discussing established mechanisms but also newly proposed theories. We then continue with a comprehensive summary of the most widely studied dopants to date, placing particular emphasis on the chemical strategies toward the synthesis of molecules with improved functionality. The processing routes toward doped organic films and the important doping-processing-nanostructure relationships, are also discussed. We conclude the review by highlighting how doping can enhance the operating characteristics of various organic devices.

Pressure-Induced Enhancement of Thermoelectric Performance in Rubrene

In this work, the thermoelectric performance of a typical small-molecule organic semiconductor rubrene under different hydrostatic pressures was studied by first-principles calculation and molecular dynamics simulation. The ZT value of rubrene can reach 1.6 at 400 K due to an unprecedented increase in hole mobility under hydrostatic pressure. The underlying mechanism is ascribed to the suppression of low-frequency phonons (which weakens electron-phonon scattering) and the increase in the intermolecular electronic coupling. The effect of uniaxial stress has also been investigated to confirm this conclusion. Our results provide meaningful insights to understand the relationship between thermoelectric properties and hydrostatic pressure in organic semiconductors.

Backbone Effects on the Thermoelectric Properties of Ultra-Small Bandgap Conjugated Polymers

Conjugated polymers with narrower bandgaps usually induce higher carrier mobility, which is vital for the improved thermoelectric performance of polymeric materials. Herein, two indacenodithiophene (IDT) based donor-acceptor (D-A) conjugated polymers (PIDT-BBT and PIDTT-BBT) were designed and synthesized, both of which exhibited low-bandgaps. PIDTT-BBT showed a more planar backbone and carrier mobility that was two orders of magnitude higher (2.74 × 10-2 cm2V-1s-1) than that of PIDT-BBT (4.52 × 10-4 cm2V-1s-1). Both exhibited excellent thermoelectric performance after doping with 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane, where PIDTT-BBT exhibited a larger conductivity (0.181 S cm-1) and a higher power factor (1.861 μW m-1 K-2) due to its higher carrier mobility. The maximum power factor of PIDTT-BBT reached 4.04 μW m-1 K-2 at 382 K. It is believed that conjugated polymers with a low bandgap are promising in the field of organic thermoelectric materials.

Effect of the Linking Group on the Thermoelectric Properties of Poly(Schiff Base)s and Their Metallopolymers

As polymer-based thermoelectric (TE) materials possess attractive features such as light weight, flexibility, low toxicity and ease of processibility, an increasing number of conducting polymers and their composites with high TE performances have been developed in recent years. Up to date, however, the research focusing on the structure-performance relationship remains rare. In this paper, two series of poly(Schiff base)s with either C=C or C≡C linker and their metallopolymers were synthesized and doped with single-walled carbon nanotubes to evaluate how the linking groups affected the TE properties of the resulting composites. Apart from the effect exerted by the morphology, experimental results suggested that the linkers played a key role in determining the band gaps, preferred molecular conformation and extent of conjugation of the polymers, which became key factors that influenced the TE properties of the resulting materials. Additionally, upon coordination with transition metal ions, the TE properties could be tuned readily.

Lowering the Contact Barriers of 2D Organic F16 CuPc Field-Effect Transistors by Introducing Van der Waals Contacts

2D organic crystals exhibit efficient charge transport and field-effect characteristics, making them promising candidates for high-performance nanoelectronics. However, the strong Fermi level pinning (FLP) effect and large Schottky barrier between organic semiconductors and metals largely limit device performance. Herein, by carrying out temperature-dependent transport and Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements, it is demonstrated that the introducing of 2D metallic 1T-TaSe₂ with matched band-alignment as electrodes for F₁₆ CuPc nanoflake filed-effect transistors leads to enhanced field-effect characteristics, especially lowered Schottky barrier height and contact resistance at the contact and highly efficient charge transport within the channel, which are attributed to the significantly suppressed FLP effect and appropriate band alignment at the nonbonding van der Waals (vdW) hetero-interface. Moreover, by taking advantage of the improved contact behavior with 1T-TaSe₂ contact, the optoelectronic performance of F₁₆ CuPc nanoflake-based phototransistor is drastically improved, with a maximum photoresponsivity of 387 A W^-1 and detectivity of 3.7 × 10¹⁴ Jones at quite a low V_ds of 1 V, which is more competitive than those of the reported organic photodetectors and phototransistors. The work provides an avenue to improve the electrical and optoelectronic properties of 2D organic devices by introducing 2D metals with appropriate work function for vdW contacts.

Ordered arrangement of F4TCNQ anions in three-dimensionally oriented P3HT thin films

An ordered arrangement of electron-accepting molecular dopant, 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ), in three-dimensionally (3D) oriented poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) film was clarified. The 3D oriented P3HT thin films prepared by the friction-transfer technique were doped with F4TCNQ by dipping into an acetonitrile solution. The presence of F4TCNQ anions in the 3D oriented P3HT thin films was investigated by polarized ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared absorption spectroscopy, grazing incidence X-ray diffractometry, polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and infrared p-polarized multiple-angle incidence resolution spectroscopy (pMAIRS). The F4TCNQ-doped 3D oriented P3HT films showed anisotropic properties in all characterizations. In particular, the anisotropic molecular vibrations from polarized FT-IR and pMAIRS have clearly revealed orientations of polymeric chains and molecular dopant molecules. Considering the results from several independent techniques indicated that F4TCNQ anions in the 3D oriented P3HT were orderly arranged in a 3D manner with respect to the 3D oriented P3HT such that their molecular long-axis parallel to the P3HT backbone, with in-plane molecular orientation. Additionally, the direction of the optical transition moment of the F4TCNQ anion was found to be parallel to the molecular short-axis.

High Thermoelectric Power Factor of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) through In-Plane Alignment and Doping with a Molybdenum Dithiolene Complex

We report a record thermoelectric power factor of up to 160 μW m-1 K-2 for the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). This result is achieved through the combination of high-temperature rubbing of thin films together with the use of a large molybdenum dithiolene p-dopant with a high electron affinity. Comparison of the UV-vis-NIR spectra of the chemically doped samples to electrochemically oxidized material reveals an oxidation level of 10%, i.e., one polaron for every 10 repeat units. The high power factor arises due to an increase in the charge-carrier mobility and hence electrical conductivity along the rubbing direction. We conclude that P3HT, with its facile synthesis and outstanding processability, should not be ruled out as a potential thermoelectric material.

Rapid and high-resolution patterning of microstructure and composition in organic semiconductors using 'molecular gates'

Photolithography has been a major enabling tool for miniaturisation of silicon devices that underpinned the electronics revolution. Rapid, high-resolution patterning of key material characteristics would, similarly, accelerate the advent of molecular electronics and photonics. Here we advance a versatile approach employing local diffusion of functional small-molecular compounds through a solution-processed ‘molecular gate’ interlayer. Diffusion is activated using laser light or solvent vapour jets―a process that can be finely modulated down to molecule-on-demand deposition precision with almost photolithographic resolution (<5 μm) and speeds (3 mm s^–1). Examples of principal pattern types are presented including molecular conformation for integrated photonics; chain orientation for polarised security features and micro-engineered electronics; and doping with local conductivity values >3 S cm^–1 for improved electronic devices. Finally, we demonstrate the unique capability for one-step patterning of multiple functionalities by spatially modulating composition in ternary blends, leading to locally tunable photoluminescence from blue to red.

Although high‐resolution methods such as photolithography allow for organic semiconductor patterning, they are often limited by their high complexity. Here, the authors report a versatile “molecular gate”‐based method for micro‐patterning organic semiconductor films.

Tunable Dopants with Intrinsic Counterion Separation Reveal the Effects of Electron Affinity on Dopant Intercalation and Free Carrier Production in Sequentially Doped Conjugated Polymer Films

Carrier mobility in doped conjugated polymers is limited by Coulomb interactions with dopant counterions. This complicates studying the effect of the dopant's oxidation potential on carrier generation because different dopants have different Coulomb interactions with polarons on the polymer backbone. Here, dodecaborane (DDB)-based dopants are used, which electrostatically shield counterions from carriers and have tunable redox potentials at constant size and shape. DDB dopants produce mobile carriers due to spatial separation of the counterion, and those with greater energetic offsets produce more carriers. Neutron reflectometry indicates that dopant infiltration into conjugated polymer films is redox-potential-driven. Remarkably, X-ray scattering shows that despite their large 2-nm size, DDBs intercalate into the crystalline polymer lamellae like small molecules, indicating that this is the preferred location for dopants of any size. These findings elucidate why doping conjugated polymers usually produces integer, rather than partial charge transfer: dopant counterions effectively intercalate into the lamellae, far from the polarons on the polymer backbone. Finally, it is shown that the IR spectrum provides a simple way to determine polaron mobility. Overall, higher oxidation potentials lead to higher doping efficiencies, with values reaching 100% for driving forces sufficient to dope poorly crystalline regions of the film.

Optimizing the thermoelectric performances of conjugated polymer backbones via incorporating tailored platinum(ii) acetylides

Conjugated polymers incorporated with platinum acetylides offer an effective approach to realizing both high conductivity and high Seebeck coefficient values.