Issue 43, 2020

2,3-Thienoimide-ended oligothiophenes as ambipolar semiconductors for multifunctional single-layer light-emitting transistors

Abstract

The fascinating combination of light-emitting characteristics and electrical amplification identifies organic light-emitting transistors (OLETs) as key enabling devices for a wide variety of applications, ranging from displays to sensors. Pursuing a dual functionality in a single-layer architecture is the major strength and the major challenge of this technology. Limitations mainly arise from the poor availability of organic semiconductors that are able to ensure good ambipolar behavior in charge transport together with an efficient light-emission in the solid state. In this present study, we report on a new class of thienoimide-ended oligothiophenes as molecular compounds simultaneously endowed with good field-effect mobility for holes and electrons, good processability, self-assembly capability into nanostructures and remarkable properties of photo- and electroluminescence in the solid state. The versatile chemical tuning of the molecular structure and the fine use of both solution-processed and physical deposition techniques in the realization of nanostructured thin-films are the major tools for controlling the packing of molecules and their intermolecular interactions in the solid state. Indeed, the inherent polymorphism of this class of compounds is directly correlated with their electrical and optoelectronic properties as active materials in multifunctional devices. Considering the field-effect transistor as a benchmark device platform, here we propose the extended family of thienoimide-ended oligothiophenes as a case study in virtue of (i) the solid and throughout correlation of the molecular structure and solid-state organization with the figures of merit in transistor-based devices, and (ii) the possibility of engineering highly integrated planar organic optoelectronic devices with multiple functionalities for the investigation of photophysical and charge transport processes in organic compounds and, ultimately, the demonstration of real-setting applications of OLET technology.

Graphical abstract: 2,3-Thienoimide-ended oligothiophenes as ambipolar semiconductors for multifunctional single-layer light-emitting transistors

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
14 7 2020
Accepted
28 8 2020
First published
31 8 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2020,8, 15048-15066

2,3-Thienoimide-ended oligothiophenes as ambipolar semiconductors for multifunctional single-layer light-emitting transistors

M. Prosa, S. Moschetto, E. Benvenuti, M. Zambianchi, M. Muccini, M. Melucci and S. Toffanin, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2020, 8, 15048 DOI: 10.1039/D0TC03326J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements