Synergistic Use of All-Acceptor Strategies for the Preparation of an Organic Semiconductor and the Realization of High Electron Transport Properties in Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Abstract

The development of n-type organic semiconductor materials for transporting electrons as part of logic circuits is equally important to the development of p-type materials for transporting holes. Currently, progress in research on n-type materials is relatively backward, and the number of polymers with high electron mobility is limited. As the core component of the organic field-effect transistor (OFET), the rational design and judicious selection of the structure of organic semiconductor materials are crucial to enhance the performance of devices. A novel conjugated copolymer with an all-acceptor structure was synthesized based on an effective chemical structure modification and design strategy. PDPPTT-2Tz was obtained by the Stille coupling of the DPPTT monomer with 2Tz-SnMe3, which features high molecular weight and thermal stability. The low-lying lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level of the copolymer was attributed to the introduction of electron-deficient bithiazole. DFT calculations revealed that this material is highly planar. The effect of modulation from a donor–acceptor to acceptor–acceptor structure on the improvement of electron mobility was significant, which showed a maximum value of 1.29 cm2 V−1 s−1 and an average value of 0.81 cm2 V−1 s−1 for electron mobility in BGBC-based OFET devices. Our results demonstrate that DPP-based polymers can be used not only as excellent p-type materials but also as promising n-type materials.