Performed
through side-chain engineering or by incorporating intramolecular
locking units, the directionality and dynamic nature of noncovalent
interactions are particularly attractive for the design of novel semiconducting
materials in a wide variety of applications. This work investigates
the nature and position of hydrogen bonding (intra- versus intermolecular),
with the objective of developing a rational approach to the design
of new semiconducting materials with improved properties in the solid
state. To control the polymer chains’ self-assembly, a π-conjugated
polymer incorporating a moiety capable of generating intramolecular
hydrogen bonding is evaluated against a polymer that allows for intermolecular
hydrogen bonding. Characterization through various techniques, optical
spectroscopies, grazing incidence wide-angle x-ray scattering, and
solution small-angle neutron scattering showed that intramolecular
hydrogen bonds resulted in materials with improved crystallinity and
higher effective conjugation in the solid state. Additionally, the
effect of the noncovalent interaction configuration on the optoelectronic
properties was analyzed in organic field-effect transistor fabrication.
Devices prepared from the materials with intramolecular hydrogen bonds
showed significantly higher performance, with three orders of magnitude
higher charge mobility than their counterparts fabricated from polymers
with intermolecular hydrogen bonds. These results confirm the importance
of chemical design on polymer structures and offer a novel route for
the design of high-efficiency semiconducting polymers for next-generation
electronics.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.