Evaluation of the intrinsic charge carrier transporting properties of linear- and bent-shaped π-extended benzo-fused thieno[3,2-b]thiophenes

Abstract

The intrinsic charge carrier transporting properties of two isomeric linear- and bent-shaped 7-ring benzo-fused thieno[3,2-b] thiophenes and their octyl-substituted analogues were newly investigated using flash-photolysis (FP-) and field-induced (FI-) time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) techniques. FP-TRMC study in the solid state revealed that octyl-substitution potentially improved the photoconductivity due to the enhanced crystalline lamellar packing. After this screening process, local-scale hole mobilities at the thienoacene–poly(methylmethacrylate) insulator interfaces were precisely recorded using FI-TRMC, reaching up to 4.5 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ for the linear-shaped non-alkylated thienoacene. The combination of FP- and FI-TRMC measurements provides a rapid and quantitative evaluation scheme even for a variety of compounds with some issues in the processing conditions, leading to the optimized structure of the compounds used as active (interfacial) layers in practical electronic devices.