Development of Synthetically Accessible Glycolated Polythiophenes for High-Performance Organic Electrochemical Transistors

Authors

Bowen Ding, Imperial College London
Vianna N. Le, University of Kentucky
Hang Yu, Imperial College London
Guanchen Wu, Imperial College London
Adam V. Marsh, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Edgar Gutiérrez-Fernández, University of the Basque Country
Nicolás Ramos, University of the Basque Country
Martina Rimmele, Imperial College London
Jaime Martín, University of the Basque Country, Universidade da Coruña
Jenny Nelson, Imperial College London
Alexandra F. Paterson, University of KentuckyFollow
Martin Heeney, Imperial College LondonFollow

Abstract

Four glycolated polythiophene-based organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs), PE2gTT, PE2gT, PT2gTT, and PT2gT are prepared by atom-efficient direct arylation polymerization, avoiding the need for toxic organometallic pre- cursors. PE2gT, PT2gTT, and PT2gT are operable in p-type accumulation mode organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), with PT2gT displaying the best device performance with a μC* product figure-of-merit of 290 F cm−1 V−1 s−1 . A record volumetric capacitance among p-type glycolated polythiophene OMIECs of 313 F cm−3 is observed for PE2gT, ascribed to the high proportion- ality of polar components in its materials design. The good OECT performance of PE2gT with μC* = 84.2 F cm−1 V−1 s−1 , comparable with state-of-the-art poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) devices, coupled with its synthetic accessibility and favorable accumulation mode operation makes PE2gT an ideal glycolated alternative to PEDOT:PSS in bioelectronics. PE2gT with the least negative threshold voltage also displays the best OECT operational cycling stability, linked to better resistance of its oxidized state against parasitic redox side reactions . Shelf life stability of OECTs stored (without bias) is observed to be better for materials with a more negative threshold voltage and higher average molecular weight (PT2gT), that are less susceptible to ambient auto-oxidation and film delamination.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2024

Notes/Citation Information

© 2024 The Authors. Advanced Electronic Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202300580

Funding Information

The authors thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (EP/T028513/1) and KAUST baseline funding for support. B.D. acknowledges funding via the President’s PhD Scholarship Scheme. V.L. and A.F.P. thank the National Science Foundation (NSF) through coopera- tive agreement number 1849213 for financial support. H. Y. acknowledges the PhD studentship support from the China Scholarship Council (CSC). J.N. and H.Y. thank the European Research Council for support under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement No. 742708). J.N. thanks the Royal Society for award of a Research Professorship.

Repository Citation

Ding, Bowen; Le, Vianna N.; Yu, Hang; Wu, Guanchen; Marsh, Adam V.; Gutiérrez-Fernández, Edgar; Ramos, Nicolás; Rimmele, Martina; Martín, Jaime; Nelson, Jenny; Paterson, Alexandra F.; and Heeney, Martin, "Development of Synthetically Accessible Glycolated Polythiophenes for High-Performance Organic Electrochemical Transistors" (2024). Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications. 104.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cme_facpub/104