Effectively modulating thermal activated charge transport in organic semiconductors by precise potential barrier engineering
Author(s): Huang, YA (Huang, Yinan); Gong, X (Gong, Xue); Meng, YC (Meng, Yancheng); Wang, ZW (Wang, Zhongwu); Chen, XS (Chen, Xiaosong); Li, J (Li, Jie); Ji, DY (Ji, Deyang); Wei, ZM (Wei, Zhongming); Li, LQ (Li, Liqiang); Hu, WP (Hu, Wenping)
Source: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Article Number: 21 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20209-w Published: JAN 4 2021
Abstract: The temperature dependence of charge transport dramatically affects and even determines the properties and applications of organic semiconductors, but is challenging to effectively modulate. Here, we develop a strategy to circumvent this challenge through precisely tuning the effective height of the potential barrier of the grain boundary (i.e., potential barrier engineering). This strategy shows that the charge transport exhibits strong temperature dependence when effective potential barrier height reaches maximum at a grain size near to twice the Debye length, and that larger or smaller grain sizes both reduce effective potential barrier height, rendering devices relatively thermostable. Significantly, through this strategy a traditional thermo-stable organic semiconductor (dinaphtho[2,3-b:2,3 ' -f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene, DNTT) achieves a high thermo-sensitivity (relative current change) of 155, which is far larger than what is expected from a standard thermally-activated carrier transport. As demonstrations, we show that thermo-sensitive OFETs perform as highly sensitive temperature sensors. Controlling temperature-depending charge transport in organic semiconductors is key to tailoring their electronic properties. Here, the authors report a potential barrier engineering strategy for modulating thermally-activated charge transport in organic semiconductors.
Accession Number: WOS:000665625900018
PubMed ID: 33397923
Author Identifiers:
Author Web of Science ResearcherID ORCID Number
wei, zhong ming 0000-0002-6237-0993
Ji, Deyang 0000-0002-8206-3130
Li, Liqiang H-9094-2013 0000-0001-8399-3957
ISSN: 2041-1723
Full Text: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20209-w