Although state-of-the-art ambipolar polymer semiconductors have been extensively reported in recent years, highperformance ambipolar polymers with tunable dominant polarity are still required to realize on-demand, target-specific, high-performance organic circuitry. Herein, dithienyl-diketopyrrolopyrrole (TDPP)-based polymer semiconductors with engineered side-chains have been synthesized, characterized and employed in ambipolar organic field-effect transistors, in order to achieve controllable and improved electrical properties. Thermally removable tert-butoxycarbonyl (t-BOC) groups and hybrid siloxane-solubilizing groups are introduced as the solubilizing groups, and they are found to enable the tunable dominant polarity and the enhanced ambipolar performance, respectively. Such outstanding performance based on our molecular design strategies makes these ambipolar polymer semiconductors highly promising for low-cost, large-area, and flexible electronics.

Date Published: 18 September 2013
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 8831, Organic Field-Effect Transistors XII; and Organic Semiconductors in Sensors and Bioelectronics VI, 883112 (18 September 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2023157

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8831:
Organic Field-Effect Transistors XII; and Organic Semiconductors in Sensors and Bioelectronics VI
Zhenan Bao; Ruth Shinar; Ioannis Kymissis; Iain McCulloch, Editor(s)