Issue 7, 2022

Soft template-assisted self-assembly: a general strategy toward two-dimensional molecular crystals for high-performance organic field-effect transistors

Abstract

Two-dimensional molecular crystals (2DMCs) are highly desirable to probe the intrinsic properties of organic semiconductors and are promising candidates for constructing high-performance optoelectronic devices. Liquids such as water are favorable substrates to produce high-quality 2DMCs because of the elimination of the ubiquitous coffee ring effect (CRE) of solid substrates. However, crystal growth on a water surface relies on solvents with high surface tension for good spreading, which severely limits the choice of solvents and thus the optimization of crystal growth. Herein, we reported a soft template-assisted self-assembly (STAS) strategy to grow large-area high-quality 2DMCs on a water surface irrespective of the surface tension of the solvents. The as-grown quasi-freestanding 2DMCs on the water surface could be transferred layer by layer to construct molecularly thin bilayer p–n heterojunctions. Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on these p–n heterojunctions exhibited ambipolar charge transport characteristics with a hole mobility of up to 1.50 cm−2 V−1 s−1 and an electron mobility of up to 0.79 cm−2 V−1 s−1 under ambient air. The STAS strategy is applicable to solvents with both high and low surface tensions and organic semiconductors of various structures, and opens a new avenue for the construction of high-performance organic optoelectronic devices.

Graphical abstract: Soft template-assisted self-assembly: a general strategy toward two-dimensional molecular crystals for high-performance organic field-effect transistors

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
09 Sept. 2021
Accepted
15 Dec. 2021
First published
16 Dec. 2021

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022,10, 2575-2580

Soft template-assisted self-assembly: a general strategy toward two-dimensional molecular crystals for high-performance organic field-effect transistors

X. Tian, J. Yao, S. Guo, Z. Wang, Y. Xiao, H. Zhang, Y. Feng, W. Feng, J. Jie, F. Yang, R. Li and W. Hu, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022, 10, 2575 DOI: 10.1039/D1TC04307B

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