Polymerization of Core-Expanded Naphthalene Diimides towards High-Performance n-Channel Transistors
Xike Gao* Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China, E-mail:gaoxk@mail.sioc.ac.cn
Organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) are attracting more and more attention because of their applications for low-cost, large-area, and flexible electronics. In the field of OTFTs, the device performance and ambient stability of n-type (electron-transporting) organic semiconductors (OSCs) are outmatched by their burgeoning p-type (hole-transporting) counterparts [1]. High-performance n-type OSCs are highly necessary for constructing robust and low-power-consumption organic complementary circuits with p-type ones. In the past five years, a class of core-expanded naphthalene diimides (NDIs), named as NDI-DTYM2, were developed by Gao et al. and their-based solution-processed n-channel OTFTs showed high electron mobility (0.1-3.5 cm2/Vs) and excellent device stability in air [2]. To achieve better film-forming ability and mechanical properties, the polymerization of core-expanded NDIs was performed recently by us, affording the copolymers [3] and oligomers of core-expanded NDIs, which demonstrate good film morphology as well as high electron mobility in their solution-processed OTFTs. We envision that the polymerization of core-expanded NDIs would create diverse electron-deficient pi-functional materials and greatly contribute to the development of n-type OSCs for organic electronics.
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