Sequence-Specific Placement of Defects in Pi-Conjugated Semiconducting Polymers

非技术总结：材料类别，“π共轭半导体聚合物”，在本提案中正在研究的是电子聚合物，具有解决能源使用，收获和存储等需求的潜力。具体来说，这些聚合物在有机发光二极管（oled）、有机光伏（opv）、生物电子学、传感器和电子皮肤中有应用。然而，为了使这些聚合物在广泛的电子应用中得到应用，了解长聚合物分子链如何在材料的固体状态下折叠以及这种折叠如何影响其电子性能是很重要的。为此，PI和她在华盛顿大学的团队将开发、合成和研究一类新的PI共轭半导体聚合物，这种聚合物可以沿着聚合物链在特定位置折叠，并建立新的方法来影响这些聚合物的光电性能。该项目与许多应用程序的相关性为我们提供了一个向社区传达科学和工程重要性的机会。具体来说，将与太平洋科学中心（西雅图的一个科学博物馆）合作举办一个关于聚合物的展览。此外，PI将与华盛顿大学的清洁能源多样性组织（DICE）合作，支持STEM领域的女性和代表性不足的少数族裔。技术概述：在π共轭半导体聚合物领域，人们越来越认识到，均偶联和端基等缺陷会对这些聚合物的性能产生不利影响，从而影响它们在实际应用中的性能。然而，尚不清楚的是为什么这些缺陷会以这样的方式影响性能。在这项提案中，PI和她的团队旨在阐明点缺陷如何影响微观结构，从而影响其性能。该研究包括以下内容：(i)合成具有精确间隔缺陷的π共轭半导体均聚物；（ii）评估缺陷的大小和间距如何影响均聚物的微观结构；（iii）将第(i)和（ii）部分建立的设计规则扩展到交替共聚物。该研究旨在为pi共轭半导体聚合物的微观结构设计提供前所未有的控制水平，而不是仅仅依赖于通常所做的优化方法。

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The materials class, "pi-conjugated semiconducting polymers", that are being studied in this proposal are electronic polymers that have the potential to address needs ranging from energy usage, harvesting, and storage. Specifically, the polymers have applications in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic photovoltaics (OPVs), bioelectronics, sensors, and electronic skin. However, for these polymers to be used in a wide range of electronic applications, it is important to understand how the long polymer molecular chains fold in the solid state of the material and how this folding affects its electronic properties. To this end, the PI and her group at the University of Washington will develop, synthesize, and study a new class of pi-conjugated semiconducting polymers that can fold at specific locations along a polymer chain, and establish new ways to affect the optoelectronic properties of these polymers. The relevance of the project to a number of applications provides us with an opportunity to communicate the importance of science and engineering to the community. Specifically, an exhibition about polymers will be created in collaboration with the Pacific Science Center (a science museum in Seattle). Additionally, the PI will work with a group known as Diversity in Clean Energy (DICE) at the University of Washington to support women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Within the field of pi-conjugated semiconducting polymers, there is a growing realization that defects such as homocoupling and end-groups can adversely affect the properties and thus the performance of these polymers in actual applications. However, what is not clearly understood is why these defects affect the properties in the way that they do. In this proposal, the PI and her group aim to shed light on how point defects can affect microstructure and thus their properties. The research entails the following: (i) synthesizing pi-conjugated semiconducting homopolymers with precisely spaced defects; (ii) assessing how the size of and spacing between defects affect the microstructure of the homopolymers; and (iii) expanding the design rules established in parts (i) and (ii) to alternating copolymers. The research is envisioned to provide means to design the microstructure of pi-conjugated semiconducting polymers with an unprecedented level of control instead of relying only on optimization methods as is typically done.