Polythiophene: From Fundamental Perspectives to Applications

Abstract

The field of organic electronics has been heavily impacted by the discovery and development of π-conjugated conducting polymers. These polymers show great potential for integration into future optical and electronic devices due to their capacity to transition between semiconducting and conducting states as well as the ability to alter mechanical properties by controlled doping, chemical modification, and stacking or creating composites with other materials. Among π-conjugated polymers, polythiophene and its derivatives has been one of the most extensively studied and is widely investigated computationally and experimentally for use in electronic devices such as light-emitting diodes, water purification devices, hydrogen storage, and biosensors. Various theoretical modeling studies of polythiophene ranging from an oligothiophene approach to infinite chain lengths (periodic boundary conditions) have been undertaken to study a variety of electronic and structural properties of these polymers. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in the understanding of pristine polythiophene and its derivatives from fundamental perspectives to device applications.

Flexible Thermoelectric Materials and Generators: Challenges and Innovations

“…Figure a shows several representative molecular structures of conductive polymers, including p‐type PANI, P3HT, P3BT, PA, PEDOT, PTs, and PPy; n‐type polybenzimidazobenzophenanthroline (BBL), poly[K x (Ni‐ett)], poly(perinaphthalene) (PPN), and poly(Cu‐benzenehexathiol) (CuBHT) . Unlike saturated insulating polymers whose carbon atoms are sp 3 hybridized and all electrons are localized in the form of covalent bonding, conductive polymers have backbones of contiguous sp 2 hybridized carbon centers with delocalized electrons .…”

“…Molecular and chemical structures of typical conductive polymers. a) Molecular structures of representative conductive polymers, including p‐type polyaniline (PANI), poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) (P3HT), poly(3‐butylthiophene) (P3BT), polyacetylene (PA), poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), polythiophenes (PTs), and polypyrrole (PPy); and n‐type benzodifurandione‐based poly( p ‐phenylene vinylene) (BDPPV), poly(Cu‐benzenehexathiol) (CuBHT), polybenzimidazobenzophenanthroline (BBL), poly(perinaphthalene) (PPN), and poly[K x (Ni‐ett)] . b) Schematic diagram of sp 2 hybridization and conjugated π‐bonds in conductive polymers.…”

“…Current studies on FTEs mainly focus on two aspects of these materials: 1) the development of high‐performance FTE materials, and 2) the fabrication of high‐output FTE devices through rational design . In terms of material development, one strategy is to utilize conductive polymers, including poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) (P3HT), poly(3‐butylthiophene) (P3BT), polyaniline (PANI), polyacetylene (PA), polypyrrole (PPy), and polythiophenes (PTs), due to their intrinsic flexibility and conductivity . Additionally, conductive polymers are abundant, nontoxic or low‐toxicity, and generally easy to shape and process for industrial applications .…”

One Dimensional Enhanced Anhydrous Proton Conduction in Well Defined Molecular Columns Induced by Non‐Covalent Interactions

“…Non‐covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonds and ionic interactions play a key role for controlling the supramolecular order associated with a high material efficiency such as enzyme activity or charge mobility ,,. Usually, a natural occurring or artificial material is required to adopt a certain structure that is very essential for its functions.…”

Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of an Electrochromic Azobenzene and 3,4‐Ethylenedioxythiophene‐based Electrochemically Formed Polymeric Semiconductor

“…Early attempts to obtain polymeric azobenzenes in the main polymer chain resulted in black or brown products of low molecular weight and poor solubility. [21,22] In this study, we report a novel electrochromic polymer, which contains azobenzene and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) moieties in the polymer backbone. [18] A successful approach to include azobenzene unit into conjugated polymer main chain was demonstrated by Zaytungul et al by coupling azobenzene with thiophene and obtaining a polymer which exhibited chromic response to organic acids.…”