Gaining control over conjugated polymer morphology to improve the performance of organic electronics

Abstract

Conjugated polymer (CP) microstructure plays a crucial role in determining the characteristics of a target device. Here, we provide an overview of the key aspects of the CP microstructure-property relationship carried out in our group.

Tröger’s Base-Enriched Conjugated Cyclopentannulated Copolymers: Prominent Adsorbents of CO2, H2, and Iodine

“…Conjugated polymers are finding ground in diverse applications, particularly in electronic devices based on organic materials, owing to their wide light-absorbing capacities, efficient photoluminescence, and good charge carrier mobilities. − Conjugated microporous polymers have, on the other hand, garnered prominence as a result of their stretched π-conjugated framework, extraordinary stability, simple synthesis, copious surface area, and favorable sorption of various gases. , While numerous structural families of conjugated polymers have been explored, such as linear, hyper-cross-linked, organic frameworks, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), , a common challenge resides in their scarce solubility as a consequence of to their intrinsic rigidity. To address the solubility issue, which impedes the usage of these polymers in several applications that require solution-processed deposition techniques, researchers have introduced long and/or branched aliphatic side chains, which enhance the dissolution of the polymers in organic solvents .…”

Effect of solvent quality and sidechain architecture on conjugated polymer chain conformation in solution

“…4 CPs offer a host of advantages, such as intrinsic stretchability, environmental stability, adjustable energy levels, and solution processability, owing to their versatile chemical structure through coupling synthesis. 5 Generally, CPs feature continuous delocalized electron distribution along their backbone for efficient charge transport, alongside short dispersed sidechains to enhance solubility. 6 In practice, it is observed that long sidechains and high temperatures, in addition to the choice of suitable solvents, improve the solubility of many CPs.…”

High-Temperature Rubbing: An Effective Method to Fabricate Large-Scale Aligned Semiconducting and Conducting Polymer Films for Applications in Organic Electronics

“…Solution-processable polymer semiconductors (PSCs) are central in plastic electronics as they allow for large-scale and low-cost processing for the fabrication of key devices such as organic field-effect transistors, organic solar cells, and more recently thermoelectric generators (TEGs). − Macromolecular engineering has been the route of excellence to fine-tune electronic properties of PSCs and match the requirements in terms of optical and electronic properties to achieve high performances, e.g., in organic solar cells for which efficiencies reach record values beyond 15% . Interestingly, the optical and electronic properties of PSCs depend on their structure in the solid state and most of them tend to self-assemble thanks to a segregation between the conjugated polymer backbones and the solubilizing side chains .…”