Bandgap Engineering of an Aryl-Fused Tetrathianaphthalene for Visible-Blind Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Lijuan Zhang; Xinzi Tian; Yantao Sun; Jiarong Yao; Shuyuan Yang; Zheyuan Liu; Zhen Ge; Hongtao Zhang; Yan Sun; Xiangfeng Shao; Rongjin Li; Wenping Hu

doi:10.3389/fchem.2021.698246

Bandgap Engineering of an Aryl-Fused Tetrathianaphthalene for Visible-Blind Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Front Chem. 2021 May 28:9:698246. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2021.698246. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Lijuan Zhang¹, Xinzi Tian¹, Yantao Sun², Jiarong Yao¹, Shuyuan Yang¹, Zheyuan Liu³, Zhen Ge⁴, Hongtao Zhang⁴, Yan Sun¹, Xiangfeng Shao², Rongjin Li¹, Wenping Hu^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
³ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, the Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
⁵ Joint School of National University of Singapore and Tianjin University, International Campus of Tianjin University, Fuzhou, China.

Abstract

Stability problem of organic semiconductors (OSCs) because of photoabsorption has become a major barrier to large scale applications in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). It is imperative to design OSCs which are insensitive to visible and near-infrared (VNIR) light to obtain both environmental and operational stability. Herein, taking a 2,3,8,9-tetramethoxy [1,4]benzodithiino[2,3-b][1,4]benzodithiine (TTN2) as an example, we show that controlling molecular configuration is an effective strategy to tune the bandgaps of OSCs for visible-blind OFETs. TTN2 adopts an armchair-like configuration, which is different from the prevailing planar structure of common OSCs. Because of the large bandgap, TTN2 exhibits no photoabsorption in the VNIR region and OFETs based on TTN2 show high environmental stability. The devices worked well after being stored in ambient air, (i.e. in the presence of oxygen and water) and light for over two years. Moreover, the OFETs show no observable response to light irradiation from 405-1,020 nm, which is also favorable for high operational stability.

Keywords: bandgap engineering; molecular configuration; organic field-effect transistors; organic semiconductors; visible-blind.