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Vertically Segregated Structure and Properties of Small Molecule–Polymer Blend Semiconductors for Organic Thin-Film Transistors

  1. Nayool Shin1,
  2. Jihoon Kang1,
  3. Lee J. Richter2,
  4. Vivek M. Prabhu2,
  5. R. Joseph Kline2,
  6. Daniel A. Fischer2,
  7. Dean M. DeLongchamp2,*,
  8. Michael F. Toney3,
  9. Sushil K. Satija2,
  10. David J. Gundlach2,
  11. Balaji Purushothaman4,
  12. John E. Anthony4,
  13. Do Y. Yoon1,*

Article first published online: 27 AUG 2012

DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201201389

Issue

Advanced Functional Materials

Advanced Functional Materials

Volume 23, Issue 3, pages 366–376, January 21, 2013

Additional Information

How to Cite

Shin, N., Kang, J., Richter, L. J., Prabhu, V. M., Kline, R. J., Fischer, D. A., DeLongchamp, D. M., Toney, M. F., Satija, S. K., Gundlach, D. J., Purushothaman, B., Anthony, J. E. and Yoon, D. Y. (2013), Vertically Segregated Structure and Properties of Small Molecule–Polymer Blend Semiconductors for Organic Thin-Film Transistors. Adv. Funct. Mater., 23: 366–376. doi: 10.1002/adfm.201201389

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-747, Korea

  2. 2

    National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA

  3. 3

    Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, Melon Park, CA 94025, USA

  4. 4

    Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA

*National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 11 JAN 2013
  2. Article first published online: 27 AUG 2012
  3. Manuscript Revised: 23 JUL 2012
  4. Manuscript Received: 23 MAY 2012

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Keywords:

  • organic thin-film transistors;
  • blend semiconductors;
  • charge transport;
  • vertical phase segregation

Abstract

A comprehensive structure and performance study of thin blend films of the small-molecule semiconductor, 2,8-difluoro-5,11-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)anthradithiophene (diF-TESADT), with various insulating binder polymers in organic thin-film transistors is reported. The vertically segregated composition profile and nanostructure in the blend films are characterized by a combination of complementary experimental methods including grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, neutron reflectivity, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, and near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. Three polymer binders are considered: atactic poly(α-methylstyrene), atactic poly(methylmethacrylate), and syndiotactic polystyrene. The choice of polymer can strongly affect the vertical composition profile and the extent of crystalline order in blend films due to the competing effects of confinement entropy, interaction energy with substrate surfaces, and solidification kinetics. The variations in the vertically segregated composition profile and crystalline order in thin blend films explain the significant impacts of binder polymer choice on the charge carrier mobility of these films in the solution-processed bottom-gate/bottom-contact thin-film transistors.

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