Synthesis of conjugated aromatic polymers typically involves carbon coupling polymerisations utilising transition metal catalysts and metal containing monomers. This polymerisation chemistry creates polymers where the aromatic repeat units are linked by single carbon-carbon bonds along the backbone. In order to reduce potential conformational, and subsequently energetic, disorder due to rotation around these single bonds, an aldol condensation reaction was explored, to create an isoindigo repeat unit that is fully fused along the polymer backbone. This aldol polymerization requires neither metal containing monomers or transition-metal catalysts, opening up new synthetic possibilities for conjugated aromatic polymer design, particularly where both monomers are electron deficient. The condensation reaction locks the repeat units together with a carbon-carbon double bond link, eliminating free rotation of the repeat units and thus rigidifying the polymer conformation. Polymers with very large electron affinities can be synthesised by this method, resulting in air stable electron transport. We present an electrical, optical and morphology characterisation of polymer thin films.<br/>Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) have been shown to be promising devices for amplification of electrical signals and selective sensing of ions and biologically important molecules in an aqueous environment, and thus have potential to be utilised in bioelectronic applications. The sensitivity, selectivity and intensity of the response of this device is determined by the organic semiconducting polymer employed as the active layer. This work presents the design of new organic semiconducting materials which demonstrate significant improvements in OECT performance, through operation in accumulation mode, with high transconductance and low operating voltage.<br/>We discuss the design, synthesis and performance of novel intrinsic semiconducting polymers for efficient accumulation mode OECT devices. Key aspects such as ion and charge transport in the bulk semiconductor and operational voltage and stability of the devices are addressed in order to elucidate important structure-property relationships. A range of new semiconducting polymers, designed to exhibit facile electrochemical doping of either holes or electrons, facilitate ion penetration and migration, as well as have aqueous compatibility are reported.

Semiconducting polymer for electronic and bioelectronic applications

256th National Meeting (2018)

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