Reversible Electrochemical Charging of n-Type Conjugated Polymer Electrodes in Aqueous Electrolytes

Increasing the stability of electrolyte-gated organic synaptic transistors for neuromorphic implants

Electrolyte-gated organic synaptic transistors (EGOSTs) can have versatile synaptic plasticity in a single device, so they are promising as components of neuromorphic implants that are intended for use in neuroprosthetic electronic nerves that are energy-efficient and have simple system structure. With the advancement in transistor properties of EGOSTs, the commercialization of neuromorphic implants for practical long-term use requires consistent operation, so they must be stable in vivo. This requirement demands strategies that maintain electronic and ionic transport in the devices while implanted in the human body, and that are mechanically, environmentally, and operationally stable. Here, we cover the structure, working mechanisms, and electrical responses of EGOSTs. We then focus on strategies to ensure their stability to maintain these characteristics and prevent adverse effects on biological tissues. We also highlight state-of-the-art neuromorphic implants that incorporate these strategies. We conclude by presenting a perspective on improvements that are needed in EGOSTs to develop practical, neuromorphic implants that are long-term useable.

A Cross-linked n-Type Conjugated Polymer with Polar Side Chains Enables Ultrafast Pseudocapacitive Energy Storage

Pseudocapacitors bridge the performance gap between batteries and electric double-layer capacitors by storing energy via a combination of fast surface/near-surface Faradaic redox processes and electrical double-layer capacitance. Organic semiconductors are an emerging class of pseudocapacitive materials that benefit from facile synthetic tunability and mixed ionic-electronic conduction. Reported examples are mostly limited to p-type (electron-donating) conjugated polymers, while n-type (electron-accepting) examples remain comparatively underexplored. This work introduces a new cross-linked n-type conjugated polymer, spiro-NDI-N, strategically designed with polar tertiary amine side chains. This molecular design aims to synergistically increase the electroactive surface area and boost ion transport for efficient ionic-electronic coupling. Spiro-NDI-N demonstrates excellent pseudocapacitive energy storage performance in pH-neutral aqueous electrolytes, with specific capacitance values of up to 532 F g-1 at 5 A g-1 and stable cycling over 5000 cycles. Moreover, it maintains a rate capability of 307 F g-1 at 350 A g-1. The superior pseudocapacitive performance of spiro-NDI-N, compared to strategically designed structural analogues lacking either the cross-linked backbone or polar side chains, validates the essential role of its molecular design elements. More broadly, the design and performance of spiro-NDI-N provide a novel strategy for developing high-performance organic pseudocapacitors.

Over 60 h of Stable Water-Operation for N-Type Organic Electrochemical Transistors with Fast Response and Ambipolarity

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are of great interest in low-power bioelectronics and neuromorphic computing, as they utilize organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) to transduce ionic signals into electrical signals. However, the poor environmental stability of OMIEC materials significantly restricts the practical application of OECTs. Therefore, the non-fused planar naphthalenediimide (NDI)-dialkoxybithiazole (2Tz) copolymers are fine-tuned through varying ethylene glycol (EG) side chain lengths from tri(ethylene glycol) to hexa(ethylene glycol) (namely P-XO, X = 3-6) to achieve OECTs with high-stability and low threshold voltage. As a result, the NDI-2Tz copolymers exhibit ambipolarity, rapid response (<10 ms), and ultra-high n-type stability. Notably, the P-6O copolymers display a threshold voltage as low as 0.27 V. They can operate in n-type mode in an aqueous solution for over 60 h, maintaining an on-off ratio of over 105. This work sheds light on the design of exceptional n-type/ambipolar materials for OECTs. It demonstrates the potential of incorporating these ambipolar polymers into water-operational integrated circuits for long-term biosensing systems and energy-efficient brain-inspired computing.

Observation of super-Nernstian proton-coupled electron transfer and elucidation of nature of charge carriers in a multiredox conjugated polymer

Nernstian proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) is a fundamental process central to many physical and biological systems, such as electrocatalysis, enzyme operation, DNA biosynthesis, pH-/bio-sensors, and electrochemical energy storage devices. We report herein the discovery of super-Nernstian PCET behavior with two protons per electron transferred in the electrochemical doping of a redox conjugated polymer, phenazine-substituted ladder poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL-P), in aqueous electrolyte. We show that the super-Nernstian response originates from existence of multiredox centers that have a gradient of pKa on the conjugated polymer. Our use of various pH-dependent in operando techniques to probe the nature of charge carriers in n-doped BBL-P found that polarons are the charge carriers at low to intermediate levels of doping (0.1-1.0 electron per repeat unit (eru)) whereas at higher doing levels (1.3 eru), polarons, polaron pairs, and bipolarons co-exist, which evolve into strongly coupled polaron pairs at the highest doping levels (>1.5 eru). We show that PCET-assisted n-doping of BBL-P results in very high redox capacity (>1200 F cm-3) in acidic electrolyte. Our results provide important new insights into PCET in organic materials and the nature of charge carriers in n-doped conjugated polymers while having implications for various electrochemical devices.

Charge Carrier Induced Structural Ordering And Disordering in Organic Mixed Ionic Electronic Conductors

Operational stability underpins the successful application of organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) in a wide range of fields, including biosensing, neuromorphic computing, and wearable electronics. In this work, both the operation and stability of a p-type OMIEC material of various molecular weights are investigated. Electrochemical transistor measurements reveal that device operation is very stable for at least 300 charging/discharging cycles independent of molecular weight, provided the charge density is kept below the threshold where strong charge-charge interactions become likely. When electrochemically charged to higher charge densities, an increase in device hysteresis and a decrease in conductivity due to a drop in the hole mobility arising from long-range microstructural disruptions are observed. By employing operando X-ray scattering techniques, two regimes of polaron-induced structural changes are found: 1) polaron-induced structural ordering at low carrier densities, and 2) irreversible structural disordering that disrupts charge transport at high carrier densities, where charge-charge interactions are significant. These operando measurements also reveal that the transfer curve hysteresis at high carrier densities is accompanied by an analogous structural hysteresis, providing a microstructural basis for such instabilities. This work provides a mechanistic understanding of the structural dynamics and material instabilities of OMIEC materials during device operation.

The Role of Side Chains and Hydration on Mixed Charge Transport in n-Type Polymer Films

Introducing ethylene glycol (EG) side chains to a conjugated polymer backbone is a well-established synthetic strategy for designing organic mixed ion-electron conductors (OMIECs). However, the impact that film swelling has on mixed conduction properties has yet to be scoped, particularly for electron-transporting (n-type) OMIECs. Here, the authors investigate the effect of the length of branched EG chains on mixed charge transport of n-type OMIECs based on a naphthalene-1,4,5,8-tetracarboxylic-diimide-bithiophene backbone. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) are used to establish the similarities between the common-backbone films in dry conditions. Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (EQCM-D) and in situ GIWAXS measurements reveal stark changes in film swelling properties and microstructure during electrochemical doping, depending on the side chain length. It is found that even in the loss of the crystallite content upon contact with the aqueous electrolyte, the films can effectively transport charges and that it is rather the high water content that harms the electronic interconnectivity within the OMIEC films. These results highlight the importance of controlling water uptake in the films to impede charge transport in n-type electrochemical devices.

Stable n-Type Perylene Derivative Ladder Polymer with Antiambipolarity for Electrically Reconfigurable Organic Logic Gates

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are one of the promising building blocks to realize next-generation bioelectronics. To date, however, the performance and signal processing capabilities of these devices remain limited by their stability and speed. Herein, the authors demonstrate stable and fast n-type organic electrochemical transistors based on a side-chain-free ladder polymer, poly(benzimidazoanthradiisoquinolinedione). The device demonstrated fast normalized transient speed of 0.56 ± 0.17 ms um-2 and excellent long-term stability in aqueous electrolytes, with no significant drop in its doping current after 50 000 successive doping/dedoping cycles and 2-month storage at ambient conditions. These unique characteristics make this polymer especially suitable for bioelectronics, such as being used as a pull-down channel in a complementary inverter for long-term stable detection of electrophysiological signals. Moreover, the developed device shows a reversible anti-ambipolar behavior, enabling reconfigurable electronics to be realized using a single material. These results go beyond the conventional OECT and demonstrate the potential of OECTs to exhibit dynamically configurable functionalities for next-generation reconfigurable electronics.

Automatic Prediction of Peak Optical Absorption Wavelengths in Molecules Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Molecular design depends heavily on optical properties for applications such as solar cells and polymer-based batteries. Accurate prediction of these properties is essential, and multiple predictive methods exist, from ab initio to data-driven techniques. Although theoretical methods, such as time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations, have well-established physical relevance and are among the most popular methods in computational physics and chemistry, they exhibit errors that are inherent in their approximate nature. These high-throughput electronic structure calculations also incur a substantial computational cost. With the emergence of big-data initiatives, cost-effective, data-driven methods have gained traction, although their usability is highly contingent on the degree of data quality and sparsity. In this study, we present a workflow that employs deep residual convolutional neural networks (DR-CNN) and gradient boosting feature selection to predict peak optical absorption wavelengths (λmax) exclusively from SMILES representations of dye molecules and solvents; one would normally measure λmax using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. We use a multifidelity modeling approach, integrating 34,893 DFT calculations and 26,395 experimentally derived λmax data, to deliver more accurate predictions via a Bayesian-optimized gradient boosting machine. Our approach is benchmarked against the state of the art that is reported in the scientific literature; results demonstrate that learnt representations via a DR-CNN workflow that is integrated with other machine learning methods can accelerate the design of molecules for specific optical characteristics.

Reducing delamination of an electron-transporting polymer from a metal oxide for electrochemical applications

Delamination of the electron-transporting polymer N2200 from indium tin oxide (ITO) in aqueous electrolytes is mitigated by modifying ITO with an azide-functionalized phosphonic acid (PA) which, upon UV irradiation, reacts with the polymer. The optical, electrochemical, and spectroelectrochemical properties of N2200 thin films are retained in aqueous and non-aqueous media.

High-Performance Organic Electrochemical Transistors Achieved by Optimizing Structural and Energetic Ordering of Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Polymers

For optimizing steady-state performance in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), both molecular design and structural alignment approaches must work in tandem to minimize energetic and microstructural disorders in polymeric mixed ionic-electronic conductor films. Herein, a series of poly(diketopyrrolopyrrole)s bearing various lengths of aliphatic-glycol hybrid side chains (PDPP-mEG; m = 2-5) is developed to achieve high-performance p-type OECTs. PDPP-4EG polymer with the optimized length of side chains exhibits excellent crystallinity owing to enhanced lamellar and backbone interactions. Furthermore, the improved structural ordering in PDPP-4EG films significantly decreases trap state density and energetic disorder. Consequently, PDPP-4EG-based OECT devices produce a mobility-volumetric capacitance product ([µC*]) of 702 F V-1 cm-1 s-1 and a hole mobility of 6.49 ± 0.60 cm2 V-1 s-1 . Finally, for achieving the optimal structural ordering along the OECT channel direction, a floating film transfer method is employed to reinforce the unidirectional orientation of polymer chains, leading to a substantially increased figure-of-merit [µC*] to over 800 F V-1 cm-1 s-1 . The research demonstrates the importance of side chain engineering of polymeric mixed ionic-electronic conductors in conjunction with their anisotropic microstructural optimization to maximize OECT characteristics.

High-Performance n-Type Polymeric Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors: The Impacts of Halogen Functionalization

Developing high-performance n-type polymer mixed ionic-electronic conductors (PMIECs) is a grand challenge, which largely determines their applications in vaious organic electronic devices, such as organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) and organic thermoelectrics (OTEs). Herein, two halogen-functionalized PMIECs f-BTI2g-TVTF and f-BTI2g-TVTCl built from fused bithiophene imide dimer (f-BTI2) as the acceptor unit and halogenated thienylene-vinylene-thienylene (TVT) as the donor co-unit are reported. Compared to the control polymer f-BTI2g-TVT, the fluorinated f-BTI2g-TVTF shows lower-positioned lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), improved charge transport property, and greater ion uptake capacity. Consequently, f-BTI2g-TVTF delivers a state-of-the-art µC* of 90.2 F cm-1 V-1 s-1 with a remarkable electron mobility of 0.41 cm2 V-1 s-1 in OECTs and an excellent power factor of 64.2 µW m-1 K-2 in OTEs. An OECT-based inverter amplifier is further demonstrated with voltage gain up to 148 V V-1 , which is among the highest values for OECT inverters. Such results shed light on the impacts of halogen atoms on developing high-performing n-type PMIECs.

Controlling swelling in mixed transport polymers through alkyl side-chain physical cross-linking

Semiconducting conjugated polymers bearing glycol side chains can simultaneously transport both electronic and ionic charges with high charge mobilities, making them ideal electrode materials for a range of bioelectronic devices. However, heavily glycolated conjugated polymer films have been observed to swell irreversibly when subjected to an electrochemical bias in an aqueous electrolyte. The excessive swelling can lead to the degradation of their microstructure, and subsequently reduced device performance. An effective strategy to control polymer film swelling is to copolymerize glycolated repeat units with a fraction of monomers bearing alkyl side chains, although the microscopic mechanism that constrains swelling is unknown. Here we investigate, experimentally and computationally, a series of archetypal mixed transporting copolymers with varying ratios of glycolated and alkylated repeat units. Experimentally we observe that exchanging 10% of the glycol side chains for alkyl leads to significantly reduced film swelling and an increase in electrochemical stability. Through molecular dynamics simulation of the amorphous phase of the materials, we observe the formation of polymer networks mediated by alkyl side-chain interactions. When in the presence of water, the network becomes increasingly connected, counteracting the volumetric expansion of the polymer film.

Quantitative Composition and Mesoscale Ion Distribution in p-Type Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors

Understanding the ionic composition and distribution in organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) is crucial for understanding their structure-property relationships. Despite this, direct measurements of OMIEC ionic composition and distribution are not common. In this work, we investigated the ionic composition and mesoscopic structure of three typical p-type OMIEC materials: an ethylene glycol-treated crosslinked OMIEC with a large excess fixed anionic charge (EG/GOPS-PEDOT:PSS), an acid-treated OMIEC with a tunable fixed anionic charge (crys-PEDOT:PSS), and a single-component OMIEC without any fixed anionic charge (pg2T-TT). A combination of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies, gravimetry, coulometry, and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) techniques was employed to characterize these OMIECs following electrolyte exposure and electrochemical cycling. In particular, XRF provided quantitative ion-to-monomer compositions for these OMIECs from passive ion uptake following aqueous electrolyte exposure and potential-driven ion uptake/expulsion following electrochemical doping and dedoping. Single-ion (cation) transport in EG/GOPS-PEDOT:PSS due to Donnan exclusion was directly confirmed, while significant fixed anion concentrations in crys-PEDOT:PSS doping and dedoping were shown to occur through mixed anion and cation transport. Controlling the fixed anionic (PSS^-) charge density in crys-PEDOT:PSS mapped the strength of Donnan exclusion in OMIEC systems following a Donnan-Gibbs model. Anion transport dominated pg2T-TT doping and dedoping, but a surprising degree of anionic charge trapping (∼10²⁰ cm^-3) was observed. GISAXS revealed minimal ion segregation both between PEDOT- and PSS-rich domains in EG/GOPS-PEDOT:PSS and between amorphous and semicrystalline domains in pg2T-TT but showed significant ion segregation in crys-PEDOT:PSS at length scales of tens of nm, ascribed to inter-nanofibril void space. These results bring new clarity to the ionic composition and distribution of OMIECs which are crucial for accurately connecting the structure and properties of these materials.

Mechanically Adaptive Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors Based on a Polar Polythiophene Reinforced with Cellulose Nanofibrils

Conjugated polymers with oligoether side chains are promising mixed ionic-electronic conductors, but they tend to feature a low glass transition temperature and hence a low elastic modulus, which prevents their use if mechanical robust materials are required. Carboxymethylated cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are found to be a suitable reinforcing agent for a soft polythiophene with tetraethylene glycol side chains. Dry nanocomposites feature a Young's modulus of more than 400 MPa, which reversibly decreases to 10 MPa or less upon passive swelling through water uptake. The presence of CNF results in a slight decrease in electronic mobility but enhances the ionic mobility and volumetric capacitance, with the latter increasing from 164 to 197 F cm^-3 upon the addition of 20 vol % CNF. Overall, organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) feature a higher switching speed and a transconductance that is independent of the CNF content up to at least 20 vol % CNF. Hence, CNF-reinforced conjugated polymers with oligoether side chains facilitate the design of mechanically adaptive mixed ionic-electronic conductors for wearable electronics and bioelectronics.

Role of aggregates and microstructure of mixed-ionic-electronic-conductors on charge transport in electrochemical transistors

Synthetic efforts have delivered a library of organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) with high performance in electrochemical transistors. The most promising materials are redox-active conjugated polymers with hydrophilic side chains that reach high transconductances in aqueous electrolytes due to volumetric electrochemical charging. Current approaches to improve transconductance and device stability focus mostly on materials chemistry including backbone and side chain design. However, other parameters such as the initial microstructure and microstructural rearrangements during electrochemical charging are equally important and are influenced by backbone and side chain chemistry. In this study, we employ a polymer system to investigate the fundamental electrochemical charging mechanisms of OMIECs. We couple in situ electronic charge transport measurements and spectroelectrochemistry with ex situ X-ray scattering electrochemical charging experiments and find that polymer chains planarize during electrochemical charging. Our work shows that the most effective conductivity modulation is related to electrochemical accessibility of well-ordered, interconnected aggregates that host high mobility electronic charge carriers. Electrochemical stress cycling induces microstructural changes, but we find that these aggregates can largely maintain order, providing insights on the structural stability and reversibility of electrochemical charging in these systems. This work shows the importance of material design for creating OMIECs that undergo structural rearrangements to accommodate ions and electronic charge carriers during which percolating networks are formed for efficient electronic charge transport.

The role of the electrolyte in non-conjugated radical polymers for metal-free aqueous energy storage electrodes

Metal-free aqueous batteries can potentially address the projected shortages of strategic metals and safety issues found in lithium-ion batteries. More specifically, redox-active non-conjugated radical polymers are promising candidates for metal-free aqueous batteries because of the polymers' high discharge voltage and fast redox kinetics. However, little is known regarding the energy storage mechanism of these polymers in an aqueous environment. The reaction itself is complex and difficult to resolve because of the simultaneous transfer of electrons, ions and water molecules. Here we demonstrate the nature of the redox reaction for poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy-4-yl acrylamide) by examining aqueous electrolytes of varying chao-/kosmotropic character using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring at a range of timescales. Surprisingly, the capacity can vary by as much as 1,000% depending on the electrolyte, in which certain ions enable better kinetics, higher capacity and higher cycling stability.

Backbone coplanarity manipulation via hydrogen bonding to boost the n-type performance of polymeric mixed conductors operating in aqueous electrolyte

The development of high-performance n-type semiconducting polymers remains a significant challenge. Reported here is the construction of a coplanar backbone via intramolecular hydrogen bonds to dramatically enhance the performance of n-type polymeric mixed conductors operating in aqueous electrolyte. Specifically, glycolated naphthalene tetracarboxylicdiimide (gNDI) couples with vinylene and thiophene to give gNDI-V and gNDI-T, respectively. The hydrogen bonding functionalities are fused to the backbone to ensure a more coplanar backbone and much tighter π-π stacking of gNDI-V than gNDI-T, which is evidenced by density functional theory simulations and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering. Importantly, these copolymers are fabricated as the active layer of the aqueous-based electrochromic devices and organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). gNDI-V exhibits a larger electrochromic contrast (ΔT = 30%) and a higher coloration efficiency (1988 cm² C^-1) than gNDI-T owing to its more efficient ionic-electronic coupling. Moreover, gNDI-V gives the highest electron mobility (0.014 cm² V^-1 s^-1) and μC* (2.31 FV^-1 cm^-1 s^-1) reported to date for NDI-based copolymers in OECTs, attributed to the improved thin-film crystallinity and molecular packing promoted by hydrogen bonds. Overall, this work marks a remarkable advance in the n-type polymeric mixed conductors and the hydrogen bond functionalization strategy opens up an avenue to access desirable performance metrics for aqueous-based electrochemical devices.

Unravelling Disorder Effects on Thermoelectric Properties of Semicrystalline Polymers in a Wide Range of Doping Levels

Thermoelectric (TE) performance of a specific semicrystalline polymer is studied experimentally only in a limited range of doping levels with molecular doping methods. The doping level is finely controlled via in situ electrochemical doping in a wide range of carrier concentrations with an electrolyte ([PMIM]⁺ [TFSI]^- )-gated organic electrochemical transistor system. Then, the charge generation/transport and TE properties of four p-type semicrystalline polymers are analyzed and their dynamic changes of crystalline morphologies and local density of states (DOS) during electrochemical doping are compared. These polymers are synthesized based on poly[(2,5-bis(2-alkyloxy)phenylene)-alt-(5,6-difluoro-4,7-di(thiophene-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole)] by varying side chains: With oligoethylene glycol (OEG) substituents, facile p-doping is achieved because of easy penetration of TFSI^- ions into the polymer matrix. However, the charge transport is hindered with longer OEG chains length because of the enhanced insulation. Therefore, with the shortest OEG substituents the electrical conductivity (30.1 S cm^-1 ) and power factor (2.88 µW m^-1 K^-2 ) are optimized. It is observed that all polymers exhibit p- to n-type transition in Seebeck coefficients in heavily doped states, which can be achieved by electrochemical doping. These TE behaviors are interpreted based on the relation between the localized DOS band structure and molecular packing structure during electrochemical doping.

Hydration of a Side-Chain-Free n-Type Semiconducting Ladder Polymer Driven by Electrochemical Doping

We study the organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) performance of the ladder polymer poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL) in an attempt to better understand how an apparently hydrophobic side-chain-free polymer is able to operate as an OECT with favorable redox kinetics in an aqueous environment. We examine two BBLs of different molecular masses from different sources. Regardless of molecular mass, both BBLs show significant film swelling during the initial reduction step. By combining electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance gravimetry, in-operando atomic force microscopy, and both ex-situ and in-operando grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS), we provide a detailed structural picture of the electrochemical charge injection process in BBL in the absence of any hydrophilic side-chains. Compared with ex-situ measurements, in-operando GIWAXS shows both more swelling upon electrochemical doping than has previously been recognized and less contraction upon dedoping. The data show that BBL films undergo an irreversible hydration driven by the initial electrochemical doping cycle with significant water retention and lamellar expansion that persists across subsequent oxidation/reduction cycles. This swelling creates a hydrophilic environment that facilitates the subsequent fast hydrated ion transport in the absence of the hydrophilic side-chains used in many other polymer systems. Due to its rigid ladder backbone and absence of hydrophilic side-chains, the primary BBL water uptake does not significantly degrade the crystalline order, and the original dehydrated, unswelled state can be recovered after drying. The combination of doping induced hydrophilicity and robust crystalline order leads to efficient ionic transport and good stability.

2D metal-organic frameworks for ultraflexible electrochemical transistors with high transconductance and fast response speeds

Electrochemical transistors (ECTs) have shown broad applications in bioelectronics and neuromorphic devices due to their high transconductance, low working voltage, and versatile device design. To further improve the device performance, semiconductor materials with both high carrier mobilities and large capacitances in electrolytes are needed. Here, we demonstrate ECTs based on highly oriented two-dimensional conjugated metal-organic frameworks (2D c-MOFs). The ion-conductive vertical nanopores formed within the 2D c-MOFs films lead to the most convenient ion transfer in the bulk and high volumetric capacitance, endowing the devices with fast speeds and ultrahigh transconductance. Ultraflexible device arrays are successfully used for wearable on-skin recording of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals along different directions, which can provide various waveforms comparable with those of multilead ECG measurement systems for monitoring heart conditions. These results indicate that 2D c-MOFs are excellent semiconductor materials for high-performance ECTs with promising applications in flexible and wearable electronics.

Effects of Side-Chain Length and Functionality on Polar Poly(dioxythiophene)s for Saline-Based Organic Electrochemical Transistors

Understanding the impact of side chains on the aqueous redox properties of conjugated polymers is crucial to unlocking their potential in bioelectrochemical devices, such as organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). Here, we report a series of polar propylenedioxythiophene-based copolymers functionalized with glyme side chains of varying lengths as well as an analogue with short hydroxyl side chains. We show that long polar side chains are not required for achieving high volumetric capacitance (C*), as short hydroxy substituents can afford facile doping and high C* in saline-based electrolytes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that varying the length of the polar glyme chains leads to subtle changes in material properties. Increasing the length of glyme side chain is generally associated with an enhancement in OECT performance, doping kinetics, and stability, with the polymer bearing the longest side chains exhibiting the highest performance ([μC*]_OECT = 200 ± 8 F cm^-1 V^-1 s^-1). The origin of this performance enhancement is investigated in different device configurations using in situ techniques (e.g., time-resolved spectroelectrochemistry and chronoamperometry). These studies suggest that the performance improvement is not due to significant changes in C* but rather due to variations in the inferred mobility. Through a thorough comparison of two different architectures, we demonstrate that device geometry can obfuscate the benchmarking of OECT active channel materials, likely due to contact resistance effects. By complementing all electrochemical and spectroscopic experiments with in situ measurements performed within a planar OECT device configuration, this work seeks to unambiguously assign material design principles to fine-tune the properties of poly(dioxythiophene)s relevant for application in OECTs.

Conjugated polymer blends for faster organic mixed conductors

A model mixed-conducting polymer, blended with an amphiphilic block-copolymer, is shown to yield systems with drastically enhanced electro-chemical doping kinetics, leading to faster electrochemical transistors with a high transduction. Importantly, this approach is robust and reproducible, and should be readily adaptable to other mixed conductors without the need for exhaustive chemical modification.

The Effect of Glycol Side Chains on the Assembly and Microstructure of Conjugated Polymers

Conjugated polymers with glycol-based chains, are emerging as a material class with promising applications as organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors, particularly in bioelectronics and thermoelectrics. However, little is still known about their microstructure and the role of the side chains in determining intermolecular interactions and polymer packing. Here, we use the combination of electrospray deposition and scanning tunneling microscopy to determine the microstructure of prototypical glycolated conjugated polymers (pgBTTT and p(g2T-TT)) with submonomer resolution. Molecular dynamics simulations of the same surface-adsorbed polymers exhibit an excellent agreement with the experimental images, allowing us to extend the characterization of the polymers to the atomic scale. Our results prove that, similarly to their alkylated counterparts, glycolated polymers assemble through interdigitation of their side chains, although significant differences are found in their conformation and interaction patterns. A model is proposed that identifies the driving force for the polymer assembly in the tendency of the side chains to adopt the conformation of their free analogues, i.e., polyethylene and polyethylene glycol, for alkyl or ethylene glycol side chains, respectively. For both classes of polymers, it is also demonstrated that the backbone conformation is determined to a higher degree by the interaction between the side chains rather than by the backbone torsional potential energy. The generalization of these findings from two-dimensional (2D) monolayers to three-dimensional thin films is discussed, together with the opportunity to use this type of 2D study to gain so far inaccessible, subnm-scale information on the microstructure of conjugated polymers.

The effect of residual palladium on the performance of organic electrochemical transistors

Organic electrochemical transistors are a promising technology for bioelectronic devices, with applications in neuromorphic computing and healthcare. The active component enabling an organic electrochemical transistor is the organic mixed ionic-electronic conductor whose optimization is critical for realizing high-performing devices. In this study, the influence of purity and molecular weight is examined for a p-type polythiophene and an n-type naphthalene diimide-based polymer in improving the performance and safety of organic electrochemical transistors. Our preparative GPC purification reduced the Pd content in the polymers and improved their organic electrochemical transistor mobility by ~60% and 80% for the p- and n-type materials, respectively. These findings demonstrate the paramount importance of removing residual Pd, which was concluded to be more critical than optimization of a polymer's molecular weight, to improve organic electrochemical transistor performance and that there is readily available improvement in performance and stability of many of the reported organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors.

Charge polarity-dependent ion-insertion asymmetry during electrochemical doping of an ambipolar π-conjugated polymer

Electrochemical doping is central to a host of important applications such as bio-sensing, neuromorphic computing and charge storage. However, the mechanisms that enable electrochemical dopability and the various parameters that control doping efficiencies are poorly understood. Here, employing complementary electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical measurements, we report a charge-polarity dependent ion insertion asymmetry in a diketopyrrolopyrrole-based ambipolar π-conjugated polymer. We argue that electrostatic interactions are insufficient to fully account for the observed charge-specific ion insertion into the polymer matrix. Using polymer side-chain dependent electrochemical doping studies, we show that electron density donating and accepting tendencies of polymer side-chains sufficiently describe the observed charge-polarity dependent electrochemical doping. Our observations are akin to the solvation of dopant ions by polymer side-chains. We propose that Gutmann donor/acceptor number framework qualifies the 'solvent-like' properties of polymer side-chains and provides a rational basis for designing π-conjugated polymers with favorable mixed ionic electronic transport properties.

Enhancing the Backbone Coplanarity of n-Type Copolymers for Higher Electron Mobility and Stability in Organic Electrochemical Transistors

Electron-transporting (n-type) conjugated polymers have recently been applied in numerous electrochemical applications, where both ion and electron transport are required. Despite continuous efforts to improve their performance and stability, n-type conjugated polymers with mixed conduction still lag behind their hole-transporting (p-type) counterparts, limiting the functions of electrochemical devices. In this work, we investigate the effect of enhanced backbone coplanarity on the electrochemical activity and mixed ionic-electronic conduction properties of n-type polymers during operation in aqueous media. Through substitution of the widely employed electron-deficient naphthalene diimide (NDI) unit for the core-extended naphthodithiophene diimide (NDTI) units, the resulting polymer shows a more planar backbone with closer packing, leading to an increase in the electron mobility in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) by more than two orders of magnitude. The NDTI-based polymer shows a deep-lying lowest unoccupied molecular orbital level, enabling operation of the OECT closer to 0 V vs Ag/AgCl, where fewer parasitic reactions with molecular oxygen occur. Enhancing the backbone coplanarity also leads to a lower affinity toward water uptake during cycling, resulting in improved stability during continuous electrochemical charging and ON-OFF switching relative to the NDI derivative. Furthermore, the NDTI-based polymer also demonstrates near-perfect shelf-life stability over a month-long test, exhibiting a negligible decrease in both the maximum on-current and transconductance. Our results highlight the importance of polymer backbone design for developing stable, high-performing n-type materials with mixed ionic-electronic conduction in aqueous media.

Fluorinated Alcohol-Processed N-Type Organic Electrochemical Transistor with High Performance and Enhanced Stability

Tuning the film morphology and aggregated structure is a vital means to improve the performance of the mixed ionic-electronic conductors in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). Herein, three fluorinated alcohols (FAs), including 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE), 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP), and perfluoro-tert-butanol (PFTB), were employed as the alternative solvents for engineering the n-type small-molecule active layer gNR. Remarkedly, an impressive μC* of 5.12 F V^-1 cm^-1 s^-1 and a normalized transconductance of 1.216 S cm^-1 are achieved from the HFIP-fabricated gNR OECTs, which is three times higher than that of chloroform. The operational stability has been significantly enhanced by the FA-fabricated devices. Such enhancements can be ascribed to the aggregation-induced structural ordering by FAs during spin coating, which optimizes the microstructure of the films for a better mixed ion and electron transport. These results prove the huge research potential of FAs to improve OECT materials' processability, device performance, and stability, therefore promoting practical bio-applications.

Enabling Electron Injection for Microbial Electrosynthesis with n-Type Conjugated Polyelectrolytes

Microbial electrosynthesis-using renewable electricity to stimulate microbial metabolism-holds the promise of sustainable chemical production. A key limitation hindering performance is slow electron-transfer rates at biotic-abiotic interfaces. Here a new n-type conjugated polyelectrolyte is rationally designed and synthesized and its use is demonstrated as a soft conductive material to encapsulate electroactive bacteria Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. The self-assembled 3D living biocomposite amplifies current uptake from the electrode ≈674-fold over controls with the same initial number of cells, thereby enabling continuous synthesis of succinate from fumarate. Such functionality is a result of the increased number of bacterial cells having intimate electronic communication with the electrode and a higher current uptake per cell. This is underpinned by the molecular design of the polymer to have an n-dopable conjugated backbone for facile reduction by the electrode and zwitterionic side chains for compatibility with aqueous media. Moreover, direct arylation polycondensation is employed instead of the traditional Stille polymerization to avoid non-biocompatible tin by-products. By demonstrating synergy between living cells with n-type organic semiconductor materials, these results provide new strategies for improving the performance of bioelectrosynthesis technologies.

Impact of Side-Chain Hydrophilicity on Packing, Swelling, and Ion Interactions in Oxy-Bithiophene Semiconductors

Exchanging hydrophobic alkyl-based side chains to hydrophilic glycol-based side chains is a widely adopted method for improving mixed-transport device performance, despite the impact on solid-state packing and polymer-electrolyte interactions being poorly understood. Presented here is a molecular dynamics (MD) force field for modeling alkoxylated and glycolated polythiophenes. The force field is validated against known packing motifs for their monomer crystals. MD simulations, coupled with X-ray diffraction (XRD), show that alkoxylated polythiophenes will pack with a "tilted stack" and straight interdigitating side chains, whilst their glycolated counterpart will pack with a "deflected stack" and an s-bend side-chain configuration. MD simulations reveal water penetration pathways into the alkoxylated and glycolated crystals-through the π-stack and through the lamellar stack respectively. Finally, the two distinct ways triethylene glycol polymers can bind to cations are revealed, showing the formation of a metastable single bound state, or an energetically deep double bound state, both with a strong side-chain length dependence. The minimum energy pathways for the formation of the chelates are identified, showing the physical process through which cations can bind to one or two side chains of a glycolated polythiophene, with consequences for ion transport in bithiophene semiconductors.

Exploiting mixed conducting polymers in organic and bioelectronic devices

Efficient transport of both ionic and electronic charges in conjugated polymers (CPs) has enabled a wide range of novel electrochemical devices spanning applications from energy storage to bioelectronic devices. In this Perspective, we provide an overview of the fundamental physical processes which underlie the operation of mixed conducting polymer (MCP) devices. While charge injection and transport have been studied extensively in both ionic and electronic conductors, translating these principles to mixed conducting systems proves challenging due to the complex relationships among the individual materials properties. We break down the process of electrochemical (de)doping, the basic feature exploited in mixed conducting devices, into its key steps, highlighting recent advances in the study of these physical processes in the context of MCPs. Furthermore, we identify remaining challenges in further extending fundamental understanding of MCP-based device operation. Ultimately, a deeper understanding of the elementary processes governing operation in MCPs will drive the advancement in both materials design and device performance.

The Role of Long-Alkyl-Group Spacers in Glycolated Copolymers for High-Performance Organic Electrochemical Transistors

Semiconducting polymers with oligoethylene glycol (OEG) sidechains have attracted strong research interest for organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) applications. However, key molecular design rules for high-performance OECTs via efficient mixed electronic/ionic charge transport are still unclear. In this work, new glycolated copolymers (gDPP-TTT and gDPP-TTVTT) with diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) acceptor and thiophene (T) and vinylene (V) thiophene-based donor units are synthesized and characterized for accumulation mode OECTs, where a long-alkyl-group (C₁₂ ) attached to the DPP unit acts as a spacer distancing the OEG groups from the polymer backbone. gDPP-TTVTT shows the highest OECT transconductance (61.9 S cm^-1 ) and high operational stability, compared to gDPP-TTT and their alkylated counterparts. Surprisingly, gDPP-TTVTT also shows high electronic charge mobility in a field-effect transistor, suggesting efficient ion injection/diffusion without hindering its efficient electronic charge transport. The elongated donor unit (TTVTT) facilitates hole polaron formation to be more localized to the donor unit, leading to faster and easier polaron formation with less impact on polymer structure during OECT operation, as opposed to the TTT unit. This is supported by molecular dynamics simulation. These simultaneously high electronic and ionic charge-transport properties are achieved due to the long-alkyl-group spacer in amphipathic sidechains, providing an important molecular design rule for glycolated copolymers.

Gaining control over conjugated polymer morphology to improve the performance of organic electronics

Conjugated polymers (CPs) are widely used in various domains of organic electronics. However, the performance of organic electronic devices can be variable due to the lack of precise predictive control over the polymer microstructure. While the chemical structure of CPs is important, CP microstructure also plays an important role in determining the charge-transport, optical and mechanical properties suitable for a target device. Understanding the interplay between CP microstructure and the resulting properties, as well as predicting and targeting specific polymer morphologies, would allow current comprehension of organic electronic device performance to be improved and potentially enable more facile device optimization and fabrication. In this Feature Article, we highlight the importance of investigating CP microstructure, discuss previous developments in the field, and provide an overview of the key aspects of the CP microstructure-property relationship, carried out in our group over recent years.

Synthetic Nuances to Maximize n-Type Organic Electrochemical Transistor and Thermoelectric Performance in Fused Lactam Polymers

A series of fully fused n-type mixed conduction lactam polymers p(g₇NC_nN), systematically increasing the alkyl side chain content, are synthesized via an inexpensive, nontoxic, precious-metal-free aldol polycondensation. Employing these polymers as channel materials in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) affords state-of-the-art n-type performance with p(g₇NC₁₀N) recording an OECT electron mobility of 1.20 × 10^–2 cm² V^–1 s^–1 and a μC* figure of merit of 1.83 F cm^–1 V^–1 s^–1. In parallel to high OECT performance, upon solution doping with (4-(1,3-dimethyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzoimidazol-2-yl)phenyl)dimethylamine (N-DMBI), the highest thermoelectric performance is observed for p(g₇NC₄N), with a maximum electrical conductivity of 7.67 S cm^–1 and a power factor of 10.4 μW m^–1 K^–2. These results are among the highest reported for n-type polymers. Importantly, while this series of fused polylactam organic mixed ionic–electronic conductors (OMIECs) highlights that synthetic molecular design strategies to bolster OECT performance can be translated to also achieve high organic thermoelectric (OTE) performance, a nuanced synthetic approach must be used to optimize performance. Herein, we outline the performance metrics and provide new insights into the molecular design guidelines for the next generation of high-performance n-type materials for mixed conduction applications, presenting for the first time the results of a single polymer series within both OECT and OTE applications.

The effect of side chain engineering on conjugated polymers in organic electrochemical transistors for bioelectronic applications

Bioelectronics focuses on the establishment of the connection between the ion-driven biosystems and readable electronic signals. Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) offer a viable solution for this task. Organic mixed ionic/electronic conductors (OMIECs) rest at the heart of OECTs. The balance between the ionic and electronic conductivities of OMIECs is closely connected to the OECT device performance. While modification of the OMIECs' electronic properties is largely related to the development of conjugated scaffolds, properties such as ion permeability, solubility, flexibility, morphology, and sensitivity can be altered by side chain moieties. In this review, we uncover the influence of side chain molecular design on the properties and performance of OECTs. We summarise current understanding of OECT performance and focus specifically on the knowledge of ionic-electronic coupling, shedding light on the significance of side chain development of OMIECs. We show how the versatile synthetic toolbox of side chains can be successfully employed to tune OECT parameters via controlling the material properties. As the field continues to mature, more detailed investigations into the crucial role side chain engineering plays on the resultant OMIEC properties will allow for side chain alternatives to be developed and will ultimately lead to further enhancements within the field of OECT channel materials.