High-performance n-Type Polymers Based on Multiple Electron-withdrawing Groups Decorated (E)-1,2-Di(thiophen-2-yl)ethene Building Blocks

doi:10.1007/s40242-025-5229-z

Abstract

Abstract: The performance of n-type conjugated polymers lags far behind that of p-type polymers, which significantly restricts the development of organic electronics. The (E)-1,2-di(thiophen-2-yl)ethene (TVT) unit, owing to its unique advantages, has been widely applied in the design of p-type polymer semiconductors. Previous studies have demonstrated that introducing electron-withdrawing groups can lower the frontier orbital energy levels of polymers and enhance electron injection/transporting capabilities. Based on this, we proposed incorporating multiple electron-withdrawing groups, such as amide groups, fluorine atoms, and cyano groups, into the polymer backbones of TVT-based polymer to facilitate the electron transport. We successfully designed and synthesized the polymers TVTDA-4FTVT and TVTDA-2F2CNTVT. Both polymers exhibited low frontier orbital energy levels. Due to its significantly higher crystallization tendency and favorable intermolecular packing structure, the organic field-effect transistor (OFET) device based on TVTDA-4FTVT demonstrated an electron mobility one order of magnitude higher than that of TVTDA-2F2CNTVT. TVTDA-4FTVT showed the highest electron mobility of 0.87 cm²·V^-1·s^-1, while TVTDA-2F2CNTVT exhibited the highest electron mobility of 0.049 cm²·V^-1·s^-1. Owing to its deeper lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level, the OFET devices based on TVTDA-2F2CNTVT showed good air stability after being placed in a natural environment for 15 d.

Key words: Organic field-effect transistor, Electron-withdrawing group, n-Type, Mobility, Conjugated polymer

MA Jianeng, CHEN Yongsheng, CHEN Jiawei, TANG Jie, LI Yanru, LI Ruiping, YU Liyang, FEI Zhuping. High-performance n-Type Polymers Based on Multiple Electron-withdrawing Groups Decorated (E)-1,2-Di(thiophen-2-yl)ethene Building Blocks[J]. Chemical Research in Chinese Universities, 2025, 41(6): 1645-1652.

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