With charge carrier mobilities of organic semiconductors repeatedly surpassing 1 cm2 V−1 s−1, the main technological hurdle that limits the application of organic circuitry is no longer the commonly perceived low mobility, but is a simple and robust process that can provide excellent device yields with low cost. Solution processing is such a promising technology for organic electronics, but it is also associated with many intrinsic drawbacks. Melt processing—a proven technology in the plastic thin film industry—has received little attention. Because most high performance semiconducting polymers, if not all, will either breakdown before melting or have melting temperatures that are too high for practical use. Here we introduce melt-processable complementary semiconducting polymer blends (c-SPB) and develop the solvent-free process to fabricate semiconducting thin films and microwires for organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Melt-press method is used for semiconducting thin film. By using direct melt-press or peel off-transfer approaches, the melt-processed devices exhibit an average mobility of 0.4 cm2 V−1 s−1 and current on/off ratios higher than 105. In-situ temperature-dependent grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and charge transport measurements provide the evidence that the c-SPB has a reversible morphology and device performance, which could nearly return to their original states. Such features have not been reported for any known polymer blends, while they are critical for the adoption of melt-processing as a viable technology in industrial manufacturing of organic electronics. These results show that melt processing method has great potential in organic electronics and a new venue is opened up to melt-processable semiconducting polymers.

Melt-processable complementary semiconducting polymer blends for organic field-effect transistors

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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