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Composite Semiconductor Material of Carbon Nanotubes and Poly[5,5′-bis(3-dodecyl-2-thienyl)-2,2′-bithiophene] for High-Performance Organic Thin-Film Transistors

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Abstract

A nonpercolating network of non-covalently functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes was embedded within air-stable poly[5,5′-bis(3-dodecyl-2-thienyl)-2,2′-bithiophene] (PQT-12) thin films for the purpose of enhancing the field-effect mobility in thin-film transistors. The host polymer was used to stabilize the nanotubes in suspension through π-orbital overlap caused by simple application of ultrasonication. The stable nanotube suspension was cast into two different device architectures, both of which exhibited excellent on/off ratios ranging from 105 to 106 and dramatically improved mobilities compared with pristine PQT-12 semiconductor. A single-layer film with nanotubes embedded throughout was easy to fabricate and had mobility up to 0.34 cm2/Vs, an enhancement of over 3× compared with PQT-12. Placing the nanotubes closer to the dielectric surface in a dual-layer approach resulted in a mobility improvement of up to six times (0.58 cm2/Vs). The effects of the nanotube content on the polymer interaction within the suspension, film morphology, and electrical properties were investigated as well.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Materials Laboratory, Xerox Research Centre of Canada, Mississauga, ON, L5K 2L1, Canada

    Cameron Derry & Yiliang Wu

  2. Department of Material Science and Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada

    Cameron Derry & Shiping Zhu

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada

    Shiping Zhu

  4. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada

    Jamal Deen

Authors
  1. Cameron Derry
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  2. Yiliang Wu
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  3. Shiping Zhu
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  4. Jamal Deen
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yiliang Wu or Shiping Zhu.

Additional information

Cameron Derry: Master candidate of McMaster University, Visiting Student at Xerox Research Centre of Canada.

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Derry, C., Wu, Y., Zhu, S. et al. Composite Semiconductor Material of Carbon Nanotubes and Poly[5,5′-bis(3-dodecyl-2-thienyl)-2,2′-bithiophene] for High-Performance Organic Thin-Film Transistors. J. Electron. Mater. 42, 3481–3488 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-013-2785-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-013-2785-7

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