Home Organic ElectronicsPolymer Semiconductors in Display & Optoelectronics Research

Polymer Semiconductors in Display & Optoelectronics Research

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 conjugated polymer semiconductors.

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 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.

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.

Materials

References

Zaumseil J, Sirringhaus H. 2007. Electron and Ambipolar Transport in Organic Field-Effect Transistors. Chem. Rev.. 107(4):1296-1323. https://doi.org/10.1021/cr0501543

Li G, Shrotriya V, Huang J, Yao Y, Moriarty T, Emery K, Yang Y. 2005. High-efficiency solution processable polymer photovoltaic cells by self-organization of polymer blends. Nature Mater. 4(11):864-868. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1500

Cugola R, Giovanella U, Di Gianvincenzo P, Bertini F, Catellani M, Luzzati S. 2006. Thermal characterization and annealing effects of polythiophene/fullerene photoactive layers for solar cells. Thin Solid Films. 511-512489-493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2005.12.092

Sirringhaus H, Brown PJ, Friend RH, Nielsen MM, Bechgaard K, Langeveld-Voss BMW, Spiering AJH, Janssen RAJ, Meijer EW, Herwig P, et al. 1999. Two-dimensional charge transport in self-organized, high-mobility conjugated polymers. Nature. 401(6754):685-688. https://doi.org/10.1038/44359

Kim Y, Cook S, Tuladhar SM, Choulis SA, Nelson J, Durrant JR, Bradley DDC, Giles M, McCulloch I, Ha C, et al. 2006. A strong regioregularity effect in self-organizing conjugated polymer films and high-efficiency polythiophene:fullerene solar cells. Nature Mater. 5(3):197-203. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1574

Al-Ibrahim M, Roth H, Schroedner M, Konkin A, Zhokhavets U, Gobsch G, Scharff P, Sensfuss S. 2005. The influence of the optoelectronic properties of poly(3-alkylthiophenes) on the device parameters in flexible polymer solar cells. Organic Electronics. 6(2):65-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2005.02.004

Babel A, Jenekhe SA. 2003. High Electron Mobility in Ladder Polymer Field-Effect Transistors. J. Am. Chem. Soc.. 125(45):13656-13657. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja0371810

Alam MM, Jenekhe SA. 2004. Efficient Solar Cells from Layered Nanostructures of Donor and Acceptor Conjugated Polymers. Chem. Mater.. 16(23):4647-4656. https://doi.org/10.1021/cm0497069