Skin-inspired electronics have shown remarkable promise for use in health applications as well as eco-friendly consumer products that are not detrimental to the environment. As we continue to rely increasingly on consumer electronics, there is a growing need to render these products transient. Doing so would reduce the amount of electronic waste as well as environmental harm due to inadvertent disposal. Additionally, devices that are biodegradable, or that can break down at biologically benign conditions, open avenues for use in implantable electronics. Polymers are an attractive platform for electronics with such functionalities due to their scalability and ability to be rationally tuned by synthetic design. Previously, our group has designed a fully degradable semiconductor based on the seminal use of imine bonds to make acid-labile polymers. However, the development of these semiconductors requires the synthesis of new monomers with di-aldehyde functionalities for each new polymer design. The resulting charge carrier mobility of the semiconductor also does not meet standards required of use in electronics, necessitating a system with both synthetic modularity and improved electrical performance. Herein, we present a synthetic modular approach for the rapid preparation of degradable imine-based donor-acceptor polymers with established (often commercially available) monomers, leading to degradable semiconductors with improved charge carrier properties and the first demonstration of a fully degradable n-type semiconductor. We also show characterization by UV-Vis spectroscopy and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) as well as the performance of these polymer semiconductors in field effect transistors. This new modular synthesis of fully degradable semiconductors is crucial toward advancing the field of skin-inspired electronics and addressing unmet challenges in health and the environment.

Modular synthesis of fully degradable imine-based semiconducting p-type and n-type polymers

ACS Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.