Porous Semiconducting Polymers Enable High‐Performance Electrochemical Transistors

Abstract

Organic polymer electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are of great interest for flexible electronics and bioelectronics applications owing to their high transconductance and low operating voltage. However, efficient OECT operation must delicately balance the seemingly incompatible materials optimizations of redox chemistry, active layer electronic transport, and ion penetration/transport. The latter characteristics are particularly challenging since most high‐mobility semiconducting polymers are hydrophobic, which hinders efficient ion penetration, hence limiting OECT performance. Here, the properties and OECT response of a series of dense and porous semiconducting polymer films are compared, the latter fabricated via a facile breath figure approach. This methodology enables fast ion doping, high transconductance (up to 364 S cm−1), and a low subthreshold swing for the hydrophobic polymers DPPDTT and P3HT, rivalling or exceeding the metrics of the relatively hydrophilic polymer, Pg2T‐T. Furthermore, the porous morphology also enhances the transconductance of hydrophilic polymers, offering a general strategy for fabricating high‐performance electrochemical transistors.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Mar 03, 2021
Source ID
10.1002/adma.202007041

Entities

People

  • Antonio Facchetti
  • Binghao Wang
  • Jianhua Chen
  • Lifeng Chi
  • Lizhen Huang
  • Tobin J. Marks
  • Wei Huang
  • Yao Chen
  • Zhi Wang

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • National Science Foundation
  • North University of China
  • Northwestern University
  • Office of Science
  • Soochow University
  • United States Department of Energy

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Polymer Science and Technology
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Microelectronics