High-mobility organic single-crystalline transistors with anisotropic transport based on high symmetrical "H"-shaped heteroarene derivatives

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Materials for optical and electronic devices, 2020-09, Vol.8 (33), p.11477-11484
• Main Authors: Fan, Hanghong, Zou, Sufen, Gao, Jianhua, Chen, Ru, Ma, Qingfang, Ma, Wangjing, Zhang, Huarong, Chen, Guangjin, Huo, Xinwei, Liu, Zheyuan, Dang, Yanfeng, Hu, Wenping
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anisotropy; Benzothiophene; Conjugation; Crystal structure; Crystallinity; Crystallography; Crystals; Derivatives; Diffraction patterns; Electric contacts; Electrical properties; Electrochemical analysis; Electron diffraction; Field effect transistors; Optical properties; Semiconductor devices; Semiconductor materials; Single crystals; Synergistic effect; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 2050-7526; 2050-7534
• DOI: 10.1039/d0tc01390k

To reveal the influence of synergistic effect of non-covalent forces on the FET performance, two highly symmetrical "H"-shaped heteroarene derivatives anthra[2,1- b :3,4- b ′:6,5- b ′′:7,8- b ′′′]tetra(benzothiophene) (ATBT) and anthra[2,1- b :3,4- b ′:6,5- b ′′:7,8- b ′′′]tetra(benzofuran) (ATBF) as novel two-dimensional (2D) organic semiconductor materials were synthesized. The thermal, optical and electrochemical properties of ATBT and ATBF were investigated and high stability was confirmed. Single crystal XRD of ATBT confirmed the close π-π stacking due to the "wider" π-conjugation framework and four S atoms sited on both sides of each molecule could produce eight S S contacts with neighbouring molecules. Mobility of up to 15.6 cm 2 V −1 s −1 could be achieved for the single-crystalline field effect transistor, which was fabricated by the 'two-dimensional organic-ribbon mask' technique based on the individual ATBT microribbon. The strong anisotropy along different crystal axes is consistent with the molecular arrangement, which was evidenced by XRD, TEM and corresponding selected-area electron diffraction pattern. Moreover, the analogue ATBF shows lower FET performance due to lack of S S contacts in comparison to that of ATBT, which reflects that the synergistic effect of non-covalent forces has an important influence on the molecular aggregation and electrical properties. Two highly symmetrical "H"-configuration heteroarene derivatives are synthesized with mobility of up to 15.6 cm 2 V −1 s −1 for single-crystalline field effect transistors.