Polymer Semiconductors

Organic polymer semiconductors are key materials for research in organic electronics. Efforts to develop field-effect transistors (FETs), plastic solar cells, organic RFIDs, and electrochemical sensors all depend on availability of reliable organic semiconductors with choices of different molecular architectures and consistent quality. Sigma-Aldrich is pleased to offer these new conjugated polymer semiconductors:

1. Electronic grade Poly(3-alkylthiophenes) – “benchmark” high-performance organic semiconductors.

Poly(3-alkylthiophenes) are used as p-channel conductors in organic FETs,¹ and p-type materials in heterojunction photovoltaic (PV) devices² with highest performance achieved to-date. Semiconductor performance of these polymers can be degraded by residual catalyst impurities,³ defects in polymer chain regiospecificity,^4,5 and low molecular weight of the polymers. Our new electronic-grade poly(3-alkylthiophenes) are highest quality materials available in the research market, with consistently high purity, regioregularity, and molecular weight. The choice of the hexyl-, octyl-, and dodecyl- side-chains will allow you to explore effects of polymer architecture⁶ without worrying about differences in quality of the materials.

Prod. No.	Product Name	Structure	Properties*
669067	Poly(3-hexylthiophene), electronic grade (P3HT)		· Avg. Mw ~ 17,500 · > 99 % head to tail · < 50 ppm metals
682799	Poly(3-octylthiophene), electronic grade (P3OT)		· Avg. Mw ~ 25,000 · > 98 % head to tail · < 50 ppm metals
682780	Poly(3-dodecylthiophene), electronic grade (P3DDT)		· Avg. Mw ~ 27,000 · > 97% head to tail · < 60 ppm metals
*Properties: Molecular Weight, Regioregularity, Metal Content

2. BBL – n-type conjugated polymer.

Availability of n-type (electron-mobile) organic semiconductors is one of the main challenges to fabricating n-channel FETs and heterojunctions PVs. We are pleased to offer the ladder polymer poly(benzobisimidazobenzophenanthroline (BBL), one of the few conjugated polymers showing n-channel behavior. This material, processed from solutions in methanesulfonic acid, shows high electron mobility in polymer FETs.⁷ Organic solar cells with promising performance were fabricated from BBL with MEH-PPV ⁸ and poly(3-alkylthiophene) ⁹ p-type polymers.

Prod.No.	Product Name	Structure	Properties*
667846	Poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL)		· -5.9 eV 9 · - 4.0 eV 9 · μe = 0.1 cm2/(V s) 7
669067	Regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)		· - 5.1 eV · -2.8 eV · μh = 0.1 cm2/(V s)
*Properties: HOMO, LUMO, Carrier Mobility

References:

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2. Li, G.; Shrotriya, V.; Huang, J.; Yao, Y.; Moriarty, T.; Emery, K.; Yang, Y. Nature Materials 2005, 4, 864.
3. Cugola, R.; Giovanella, U.; Di Giancincenzo, P.; Bertini, F.; Catellani, M.; Luzzati, S. Thin Solid Films 2006, 511-512, 489.
4. Sirringhaus, H.; Brown, P.; Friend, R.; Nielsen, M.; Bechgaard, K.; Langeveld-Voss, B.; Spiering, A.; Janssen, R.; Meijer, E.; Herwig, P.; de Leeuw, D. Nature 1999, 401, 685.
5. Kim, Y.; Cook, S.; Tuladhar, S.; Choulis, S.; Nelson, J.; Durrant, J.; Bradley, D.; Giles, M.; McCulloch, I.; Ha, C.; Ree, M. Nature Materials 2006, 5, 197.
6. Al-Ibrahim, M.; Roth, H.; Schroedner, M.; Konkin, A.; Zhokhavets, U.; Gobsch, G.; Scharff, P.; Sensfuss, S. Organic Electronics 2005, 6, 65.
7. Babel. A.; Jenekhe, S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 13656.
8. Alam, M.; Jenekhe, S. Chem. Mater. 2004, 16, 4647. 9. Manoj, A.; Narayan, K. Optical Materials 2002, 21, 417.