Asymmetric organic semiconductors for high performance single crystalline field-effect transistors with low activation energy

Three anthracene derivatives with asymmetric structures, namely 2-phvA, 2-pheA and 2-phA, were synthesised and characterized. Single crystal OFETs of the three compounds were fabricated. 2-pheA and 2-phA showed a mobility of 0.79 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and 0.66 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, while 2-phvA exhibited a high mobility of 10 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, which was one of the highest mobilities for asymmetric anthracene derivatives. Band-like charge transport with low activation energy was observed in 2-phvA single crystal FET devices at low temperature. These results demonstrated that asymmetry can serve as an alternative strategy to design high-performance organic semiconductors.