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Controlled 2D growth of organic semiconductor crystals by suppressing “coffee-ring” effect

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Abstract

Owing to enhanced charge transport efficiency arising from the ultrathin nature, two-dimensional (2D) organic semiconductor single crystals (OSSCs) are emerging as a fascinating platform for high-performance organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). However, “coffee-ring” effect induced by an evaporation-induced convective flow near the contact line hinders the large-area growth of 2D OSSCs through a solution process. Here, we develop a new strategy of suppressing the “coffee-ring” effect by using an organic semiconductor: polymer blend solution. With the high-viscosity polymer in the organic solution, the evaporation-induced flow is remarkably weakened, ensuring the uniform molecule spreading for the 2D growth of the OSSCs. As an example, wafer-scale growth of crystalline film consisting of few-layered 2,7-didecylbenzothienobenzothiophene (C10-BTBT) crystals was successfully accomplished via blade coating. OFETs based on the crystalline film exhibited a maximum hole mobility up to 12.6 cm2·V−1·s−1, along with an average hole mobility as high as 8.2 cm2·V−1·s−1. Our work provides a promising strategy for the large-area growth of 2D OSSCs toward high-performance organic electronics.

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Acknowledgements

Wei Wang and Bei Lu contributed equally to this work. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51973147, 61904117, 51821002 and 51672180), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (No. BK20180845), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), the 111 Project, Joint International Research Laboratory of Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices. The authors thank the Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology (Nano-CIC), Soochow University and Beamline BL14B1 (Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility) for providing beam time.

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  1. Wei Wang and Bei Lu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Wei Wang, Bei Lu, Wei Deng, Xiujuan Zhang, Zhengjun Lu, Jiansheng Jie & Xiaohong Zhang

  2. Key Laboratory of Materials Physics of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China

    Di Wu

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  1. Wei Wang
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Correspondence to Xiujuan Zhang or Jiansheng Jie.

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Wang, W., Lu, B., Deng, W. et al. Controlled 2D growth of organic semiconductor crystals by suppressing “coffee-ring” effect. Nano Res. 13, 2478–2484 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2882-x

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