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Boosting the mobility of organic semiconductors through strain engineering

通过应变工程提高有机半导体的迁移率

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Abstract

Organic semiconductors (OSCs) are pivotal for advancing flexible electronics. However, their application has been severely hindered by their poor mobility. Although molecular and device engineering can improve OSC mobility, progress has stagnated in recent years. In this study, we uncovered the layer-dependent charge transport properties of OSCs under strain and substantially enhanced their mobility by strain engineering. Applying strain reduced intermolecular π-π spacing and electron-phonon scattering, thereby improving the charge transport efficiency. We observed a direct correlation between strain factor and material thickness, with thinner crystals demonstrating higher strain factors. Using molecularly thin two-dimensional molecular crystals, we achieved a substantial 58% increase in mobility. Our findings open new avenues to enhancing the mobility of OSCs.

摘要

有机半导体(OSCs)是推动柔性电子发展的关键. 然而, 其应用一直受到其较低迁移率的阻碍. 虽然分子工程和器件工程可以提高OSC迁移率, 但近年来进展几乎停滞不前. 本研究揭示了有机半导体在应变下的层数依赖电荷输运特性, 并通过应变工程可大幅提高其迁移率. 施加应变可以减小分子间π–π间距并减少电子-声子散射, 从而提高电荷输运效率. 我们观察到应变因子和材料厚度之间存在直接相关性, 较薄的晶体具有较高的应变因子. 使用分子级薄的二维分子晶体, 我们观察到迁移率显著提高了58%. 我们的研究结果为提高有机半导体的迁移率开辟了新的途径.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52073206 and 52273193), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and Tianjin University 2021 Postgraduate Education Special Fund (B2-2021-005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Organic Integrated Circuit, Ministry of Education & Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Zhaofeng Wang  (汪兆锋), Xianshuo Wu  (武显硕), Shuyuan Yang  (杨书院), Jiarong Yao  (姚佳荣), Xianfeng Shen  (沈贤锋), Pichao Gao  (高丕超), Ximeng Yao  (姚惜梦), Dong Zeng  (曾东), Rongjin Li  (李荣金) & Wenping Hu  (胡文平)

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China

    Zhaofeng Wang  (汪兆锋), Xianshuo Wu  (武显硕), Shuyuan Yang  (杨书院), Jiarong Yao  (姚佳荣), Xianfeng Shen  (沈贤锋), Pichao Gao  (高丕超), Ximeng Yao  (姚惜梦), Dong Zeng  (曾东), Rongjin Li  (李荣金) & Wenping Hu  (胡文平)

  3. Engineering Research Center of Coal-Based Ecological Carbon Sequestration Technology of the Ministry of Education, Shanxi Datong University, Datong, 037009, China

    Jiarong Yao  (姚佳荣)

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  1. Zhaofeng Wang  (汪兆锋)
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  2. Xianshuo Wu  (武显硕)
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  7. Ximeng Yao  (姚惜梦)
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  8. Dong Zeng  (曾东)
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  9. Rongjin Li  (李荣金)
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  10. Wenping Hu  (胡文平)
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Contributions

Author contributions Li R and Hu W conceived the idea and directed the project. Wang Z carried out most of the experiments. Wu X performed some OFET measurements. Yang S performed some XRD measurements. Yao J grew some of the crystals. Wang Z and Li R wrote the paper. All authors analyzed the experimental results and contributed to the discussion.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rongjin Li  (李荣金).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Supplementary information Experimental details and supporting data are available in the online version of the paper.

Zhaofeng Wang obtained his Bachelor’s degree from Jiangsu University of Science and Technology in 2019. He is currently a PhD student at the School of Science, Tianjin University under the supervision of Prof. Rongjin Li. His main research interests are 2D molecular crystals and optoelectronic devices.

Rongjin Li received his PhD degree from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2009 under the supervision of Prof. Wenping Hu and Prof. Daoben Zhu. From 2009–2011, he conducted postdoctoral research at Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. From 2011 to 2015, he worked in Prof. Klaus Mullen’s group at Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research. He then joined Tianjin University as a full professor in 2015. His research focuses on 2D molecular crystals and optoelectronic devices.

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Wang, Z., Wu, X., Yang, S. et al. Boosting the mobility of organic semiconductors through strain engineering. Sci. China Mater. 67, 665–671 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-023-2719-y

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