Engineering Optically Switchable Transistors with Improved Performance by Controlling Interactions of Diarylethenes in Polymer Matrices

Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 142, pp. 11050–11059

Abstract

The integration of photochromic molecules into semiconducting polymer matrices via blending has recently attracted a great deal of attention, as it provides the means to reversibly modulate the output signal of electronic devices by using light as a remote control. However, the structural and electronic interactions between photochromic molecules and semiconducting polymers are far from being fully understood. Here we perform a comparative investigation by combining two photochromic diarylethene moieties possessing similar energy levels yet different propensity to aggregate with five prototypical polymer semiconductors exhibiting different energy levels and structural order, ranging from amorphous to semicrystalline. Our in-depth photochemical, structural, morphological, and electrical characterization reveals that the photoresponsive behavior of thin-film transistors including polymer/diarylethenes blends as the active layer is governed by a complex interplay between the relative position of the energy levels and the polymer matrix microstructure. By matching the energy levels and optimizing the molecular packing, high-performance optically switchable organic thin-film transistors were fabricated. These findings represent a major step forward in the fabrication of light-responsive organic devices.

Authors 11

1. Lili Hou

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Strasbourg · Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires

   Affiliation as printed

   Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS, 8 alleé Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France

2. Tim Leydecker

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Strasbourg · Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires

   Affiliation as printed

   Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS, 8 alleé Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France

3. Xiaoyan Zhang

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Strasbourg · Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires

   Affiliation as printed

   Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS, 8 alleé Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France

4. Wassima Rekab

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Strasbourg · Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires

   Affiliation as printed

   Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS, 8 alleé Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France

5. Martin Herder

   Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Chemistry & IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Straße 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany

6. Camila Cendra

   Stanford University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States

7. Stefan Hecht Aachen DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry

   RWTH Aachen University · DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials · Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

   Affiliation as printed

   DWI—Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials & Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen D-52056, Germany

   Department of Chemistry & IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Straße 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany

8. Iain A. McCulloch

   Imperial College London · King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom & Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, KAUST Solar Center (KSC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), KSC Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia

9. Alberto Salleo

   Stanford University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States

10. Emanuele Orgiu corresponding

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Strasbourg · Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires · Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique

    Affiliation as printed

    INRS-Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications, 1650 Boulevard Lionel-Boulet, J3X 1S2 Varennes, Quebec, Canada

    Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS, 8 alleé Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France

11. Paolo Samorı́ corresponding

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Strasbourg · Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires

    Affiliation as printed

    Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS, 8 alleé Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France