Polydiacetylenes in Organic Semiconductors: Functional and Patternable Optoelectronic Materials for Future Electronic Devices

半导体聚合物（SP）是一类迷人的有机材料，近几十年来已导致重大发现。除了具有优异的电荷传输特性外，SP还具有合成通用性，提供了无数的可能性来微调其光电，热机械和固态特性。尽管具有这些独特的功能，但半导体聚合物在下一代电子产品制造中的应用受到限制。其中，CP对于制造先进电子产品所需的复杂微制造工艺具有有限的稳定性。为了应对这一挑战，本研究将集中于开发一种新的策略，通过形成聚二乙炔（PDA）交联来获得可互换的、稳健的和高效的SP。PDA的形成是一种高度特异性的固态反应，其可以选择性地用于图案化高分辨率特征（几纳米）以制造新型电子器件。此外，PDA的形成引入了潜在的新的电荷传输途径，通过聚合物网络，这将提高材料的光电性能。通过独特的国际多学科合作伙伴关系，交织材料化学，有机电子学和材料科学，我们的团队将通过细致的多模态表征策略揭示PDA交联对高分子量SP的热机械和光电性能的影响。基于获得的新知识，我们的团队将使用新材料将薄膜图案化为纳米器件，从而突出其在制造具有机械鲁棒性和提高效率的先进有机电子器件方面的潜力。从全球角度来看，这种独特的国际和多学科伙伴关系将成为建立这种新方法的催化剂，同时为下一代高技能的加拿大科学家提供尖端培训。

Semiconducting polymers (SPs) are a fascinating class of organic materials that have led to significant discoveries in recent decades. In addition to possessing excellent charge transport properties, SPs are synthetically versatile, offering a myriad of possibilities to fine-tune their optoelectronic, thermomechanical, and solid-state properties. Despite these unique features, the application of semiconducting polymers for the fabrication of next-generation electronics has been limited. Among others, CPs have a limited stability to the complex microfabrication processes often required to fabricate advanced electronics. This severely limits the manufacturing of new electronics.To address this challenges, this research will focus on the development of a novel strategy to access photopaternable, robust and efficient SPs through the formation of polydiacetylene (PDA) crosslinks. The formation of PDA is a highly specific solid-state reaction, which can be selectively used to pattern high resolution features (few nanometers) towards the fabrication of novel electronic devices. Additionally, formation of PDA introduces potential new charge transport pathways across the polymeric network, which will enhance the optoelectronic properties of the materials. Through a unique international multidisciplinary partnership, interlacing materials chemistry, organic electronics, and materials sciences, our team will unveil the influence of PDA crosslinks on the thermomechanical and optoelectronic properties of high molecular weights SPs by a meticulous multimodal characterization strategy. Based on the new knowledge gained, our team will use the new materials to pattern thin films into nanoscopic devices, thus highlighting their potential for the fabrication of advanced organic electronics with mechanical robustness and enhanced efficiency. From a global perspective, this unique international and multidisciplinary partnership will act as a catalyst for the establishment of this new approach while providing a cutting-edge training for the next generation of highly skilled Canadian scientists.