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Topology-Mediated Molecule Nucleation Anchoring Enables Inkjet Printing of Organic Semiconducting Single Crystals for High-Performance Printed Electronics.

Xiaobin RenFengquan QiuWei DengXiaochen FangYiming WuShengyu YuXinyue LiuSouren GrigorianJialin ShiJian-Sheng JieXiao-Hong ZhangXiujuan Zhang
Published in: ACS nano (2023)
Printable organic semiconducting single crystals (OSSCs) offer tantalizing opportunities for next-generation wearable electronics, but their development has been plagued by a long-standing yet inherent problem─spatially uncontrolled and stochastic nucleation events─which usually causes the formation of polycrystalline films and hence limited performance. Here, we report a convenient approach to precisely manipulate the elusive molecule nucleation process for high-throughput inkjet printing of OSSCs with record-high mobility. By engineering curvature of the contact line with a teardrop-shaped micropattern, molecule nucleation is elegantly anchored at the vertex of the topological structure, enabling formation of a single nucleus for the subsequent growth of OSSCs. Using this approach, we achieve patterned growth of 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2- b ][1]benzothiophene single crystals, yielding a breakthrough for an organic field-effect transistor array with a high average mobility of 12.5 cm 2 V -1 s -1 . These findings not only provide keen insights into controlling molecule nucleation kinetics but also offer opportunities for high-performance printed electronics.
Keyphrases
  • high throughput
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  • carbon nanotubes