Efficient, Robust and Soluble Electron Transport Polymers

非技术性总结：坚固、可靠和灵活的器件/电路可以为从医疗保健和环境质量到能源和安全的行业带来变革。为了实现这一愿景，需要能够有效传输电荷的新材料。在这方面，传输电子的聚合物尤其具有挑战性。该提案旨在设计和合成新的分子结构，不仅易于传输电子，而且与低成本制造技术兼容。这项研究将影响一系列电子技术，这些技术是我们社会的支柱。此外，学生将从该计划的多学科性质中获益。所有参加该计划的学生将接受交叉培训，并在必要时，将通过额外的合作进一步扩大他们的知识和经验。他们将发展领导技能，并通过参加格鲁吉亚高分子网络学生协会获得专业发展研讨会。PI致力于在招聘，教育和培训活动中实现多样性。聚合物半导体具有源自其固有的柔性、溶解性和低温可加工性的许多优点。这样的竞争特性允许在低成本、轻重量和大面积柔性光电子器件中实施π共轭聚合物。其应用范围从简单的晶体管器件到用于能量转换的光电器件、发光二极管、热电器件和传感器。这些设备的普遍可用性将有助于国家在医疗保健，环境质量，能源和安全方面的需求。为了实现所设想的器件的范围，需要空穴和电子传输材料。在这些聚合物中，表现出电子传输特性的聚合物由于氧化稳定性差和对水分的高敏感性而在其可用性方面受到更大的限制。该研究将鉴定具有扩展的π-共轭以保持低带隙、用于增强稳定性的低HOMO能级和有效的π-π分子间相互作用以改善电荷传输性能的聚合物结构。该研究将探索替代的烷基侧链，因为它们能够在普通有机溶剂中溶解目标聚合物，合成均聚物和供体-受体结构以调节HOMO/LUMO能级，通过光谱，显微镜和电学方法表征目标材料以确定重要的材料结构-加工-性能参数，并制造场效应晶体管，光伏和热电设备，以评估所提出的方法的影响。将鉴定关键的、可合成的分子组分，其将提供半导体聚合物π-共辄长度的延伸，从而允许对于电荷传输而言必不可少的取向和对齐。这些研究将确定用于柔性电子应用的高效，耐用，可溶性电子传输聚合物材料。

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:Robust, reliable and flexible devices/circuits could be transformational for industries ranging from healthcare and environmental quality to energy and security. To attain this vision, new materials that can effectively transport charges are needed. In this regard, polymers that transport electrons are especially challenging. This proposal aims to design and synthesize new molecular structures that will not only readily transport electrons, but also be compatible with low-cost fabrication techniques. The research will impact a range of electronics technologies that are the mainstay of our society. Also, students will realize benefits from the multidisciplinary nature of the program. All students participating in this program will be cross-trained and, where necessary, will further expand their knowledge and experience through additional collaborations. They will develop leadership skills and have access to professional development workshops through participation in the Georgia Tech Polymer Network-Student Association. The PI is committed to diversity in her recruiting, education and training activities. TECHNICAL SUMMARY:Polymeric semiconductors have a number of advantages that derive from their inherent flexibility, solubility, and low temperature processability. Such competitive characteristics allow for the implementation of pi-conjugated polymers in low-cost, light-weight and large-area flexible optoelectronics. The application space ranges from simple transistor devices to photovoltaics for energy conversion, to light emitting diodes, to thermo-electrics and sensors. Ubiquitous availability of such devices will contribute the nation's needs in healthcare, environmental quality, energy and security. To enable the range of envisioned devices, both hole and electron transporting materials are required. Among these, polymers that exhibit electron transport characteristics are much more limited in their availability due to poor oxidative stability and high sensitivity to moisture. This study will identify polymer architectures having extended pi-conjugation to maintain a low bandgap, a low HOMO level for enhanced stability, and effective pi-pi intermolecular interactions to improved charge transport performance. The investigation will explore alternative alkyl side chains for their ability to solubilize targeted polymers in common organic solvents, synthesize both homopolymers and donor-acceptor architectures to tune HOMO/LUMO energy levels, characterize targeted materials via spectroscopic, microscopic and electrical methods to identify significant materials structure-processing-property parameters, and fabricate field effect transistor, photovoltaic and thermo-electric devices to evaluate the impact of the proposed approach. Key, synthetically accessible molecular components will be identified that will provide for an extension of semiconducting polymer pi-conjugation length allowing for the orientation and alignment that are an imperative for charge transport. The studies will identify efficient, robust, soluble electron transport polymer materials for flexible electronics applications.