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Sedghi M, Vael C, Hu WH, Bauer M, Padula D, Landi A, Lukovic M, Diethelm M, Wetzelaer GJ, Blom PWM, Nüesch F, Hany R. Formation of electron traps in semiconducting polymers via a slow triple-encounter between trap precursor particles. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF ADVANCED MATERIALS 2024; 25:2312148. [PMID: 38361531 PMCID: PMC10868412 DOI: 10.1080/14686996.2024.2312148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Already in 2012, Blom et al. reported (Nature Materials 2012, 11, 882) in semiconducting polymers on a general electron-trap density of ≈3 × 1017 cm-3, centered at an energy of ≈3.6 eV below vacuum. It was suggested that traps have an extrinsic origin, with the water-oxygen complex [2(H2O)-O2] as a possible candidate, based on its electron affinity. However, further evidence is lacking and the origin of universal electron traps remained elusive. Here, in polymer diodes, the temperature-dependence of reversible electron traps is investigated that develop under bias stress slowly over minutes to a density of 2 × 1017 cm-3, centered at an energy of 3.6 eV below vacuum. The trap build-up dynamics follows a 3rd-order kinetics, in line with that traps form via an encounter between three diffusing precursor particles. The accordance between universal and slowly evolving traps suggests that general electron traps in semiconducting polymers form via a triple-encounter process between oxygen and water molecules that form the suggested [2(H2O)-O2] complex as the trap origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Sedghi
- Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Camilla Vael
- Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- Fluxim AG, Winterthur, Switzerland
| | - Wei-Hsu Hu
- Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michael Bauer
- Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Daniele Padula
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimia e Farmacia, Università di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Alessandro Landi
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy
| | - Mirko Lukovic
- Cellulose & Wood Materials, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Diethelm
- Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Frank Nüesch
- Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Roland Hany
- Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
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