Interplay of Molecular Structure and Solution Behavior in High Performance Conjugated Polymers

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PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYAffordable, low-cost flexible electronics could revolutionize how we think about and use devices in applications ranging from displays, to sensors for environmental and health monitoring, to energy. To attain this vision, new materials are needed, as are fundamental insights into how these materials interact with each other in solution and solid state. This research aims to design and synthesize new polymeric materials applicable to a broad range of advanced device technologies, and investigate their solution and solid-state characteristics. Different molecular architectures will be explored, as well as solution-based processes that facilitate assembly of these polymers in solution and in thin films for device configurations. Students participating in the program will realize benefits from its multidisciplinarity: they will be cross-trained and have opportunities to expand their knowledge and experience through relevant additional collaborations. Students will be recruited from the Schools of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, and Chemistry & Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. They will be provided with leadership opportunities and encouraged to participate in broadening experiences, such as industrial internships, teaching practicums, and energy policy courses, based on each student's interests and career goals. PART 2: TECHNICAL SUMMARYRobust, reliable and flexible devices could be transformational for industries ranging from healthcare, environmental quality and energy, to security. The planned research program will identify high-performance, soluble and robust pi-conjugated polymers that are expected to exhibit enhanced field-effect induced charge transport, photovoltaic and thermo-electric properties. New polymer structures will be synthesized, characterized and fabricated into devices. Photoluminescence studies will investigate the behavior of these polymers in solution and during solvent evaporation. In particular, polymer molecular structures will be selected with the aim to design materials with extended conjugation lengths that are soluble in environmentally friendlier solvent options, and allow for tuning of HOMO/LUMO energy levels. The targeted materials will be characterized, and significant materials structure-processing-property parameters will be identified. Spectroscopic investigations will provide fundamental insight into how conjugated polymers self-assemble in solution and during the deposition processes into structures that are commensurate with effective charge transport. These studies will support the vision of robust and reliable flexible optoelectronic devices fabricated via additive solution processing from benign solvents.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.