Radically Tunable n-Type Organic Semiconductor via Polymorph Control

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Daniel William Davies - , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Author)
  • Sang Kyu Park - , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Author)
  • Prapti Kafle - , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Author)
  • Hyunjoong Chung - , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Author)
  • Dafei Yuan - , CAS - Institute of Chemistry (Author)
  • Joseph W. Strzalka - , Argonne National Laboratory (Author)
  • Stefan C.B. Mannsfeld - , Chair of Organic Devices (cfaed) (Author)
  • Suyin Grass Wang - , Argonne National Laboratory (Author)
  • Yu Sheng Chen - , Argonne National Laboratory (Author)
  • Danielle L. Gray - , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Author)
  • Xiaozhang Zhu - , CAS - Institute of Chemistry (Author)
  • Ying Diao - , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Author)

Abstract

Polymorphism has emerged as an important design consideration in organic semiconductors (OSCs). Previously, in many OSCs, even small changes in molecular stacking can cause drastic changes to the optical and electronic properties. However, investigation into n-type semiconductors has significantly lagged behind their p-type counterparts. In this work, we present the prolific polymorphism of 2-dimensional quinoidal terthiophene (2DQTT-o-B) and systematically investigate each of 5 polymorphs, 3 of which have been previously unreported. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction provided a key method to understanding the structure of each polymorph. Via the polymorphic transitions mapped, we tuned the electron mobility by 5 orders of magnitude, from 5.63 × 10-5 to 0.22 cm2 V-1 s-1. These were accompanied by modifications to the optical properties, namely we observed substantial differences in the refractive index noted by intensity differences under polarized optical microscopy and a large shift in optical band gap from 1.18 eV up to 1.40 eV. Finally, we suggest that changes to these properties may be related to the unique quinoidal to aromatic transition observed in quinoidal molecules.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2466-2477
Number of pages12
JournalChemistry of materials
Volume33
Issue number7
Publication statusPublished - 13 Apr 2021
Peer-reviewedYes