Ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions

Kai Xu; Hengda Sun; Tero Petri Ruoko; Gang Wang; Renee Kroon; Nagesh B. Kolhe; Yuttapoom Puttisong; Xianjie Liu; Daniele Fazzi; Koki Shibata; Chi Yuan Yang; Ning Sun; Gustav Persson; Andrew B. Yankovich; Eva Olsson; Hiroyuki Yoshida; Weimin M. Chen; Mats Fahlman; Martijn Kemerink; Samson A. Jenekhe; Christian Müller; Magnus Berggren; Simone Fabiano

doi:10.1038/s41563-020-0618-7

Ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions

Kai Xu, Hengda Sun, Tero Petri Ruoko, Gang Wang, Renee Kroon, Nagesh B. Kolhe, Yuttapoom Puttisong, Xianjie Liu, Daniele Fazzi, Koki Shibata, Chi Yuan Yang, Ning Sun, Gustav Persson, Andrew B. Yankovich, Eva Olsson, Hiroyuki Yoshida, Weimin M. Chen, Mats Fahlman, Martijn Kemerink, Samson A. JenekheChristian Müller, Magnus Berggren, Simone Fabiano

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

113 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Doping of organic semiconductors is crucial for the operation of organic (opto)electronic and electrochemical devices. Typically, this is achieved by adding heterogeneous dopant molecules to the polymer bulk, often resulting in poor stability and performance due to dopant sublimation or aggregation. In small-molecule donor–acceptor systems, charge transfer can yield high and stable electrical conductivities, an approach not yet explored in all-conjugated polymer systems. Here, we report ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions. Combining low-ionization-energy polymers with high-electron-affinity counterparts yields conducting interfaces with resistivity values five to six orders of magnitude lower than the separate single-layer polymers. The large decrease in resistivity originates from two parallel quasi-two-dimensional electron and hole distributions reaching a concentration of ∼10¹³ cm^–2. Furthermore, we transfer the concept to three-dimensional bulk heterojunctions, displaying exceptional thermal stability due to the absence of molecular dopants. Our findings hold promise for electro-active composites of potential use in, for example, thermoelectrics and wearable electronics.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	738-744
Number of pages	7
Journal	Nature Materials
Volume	19
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-0618-7
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2020
Externally published	Yes
Publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

We thank C. Musumeci (Linköping University) for assistance with atomic force microscopy and S. Gustafsson (Chalmers) for assistance with TEM specimen preparation. This work was supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation, VINNOVA (grant no. 2015-04859), the Swedish Research Council (grant agreement nos. 2016-03979, 2016-06146, 2016-05498, 2016-05990, 2018-03824), the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO Mat LiU no. 2009 00971), ÅForsk (18-313) and the European Research Council (ERC) under grant agreement no. 637624. We also thank the Chalmers Material Analysis Laboratory for their support of microscopes. T.P.R acknowledges funding from the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion. N.S. thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 61805211). H.Y. acknowledges JST ALCA (JPMJAL1404) and the Futaba Foundation. Work at the University of Washington was supported by the National Science Foundation (DMR-1708450). D.F. acknowledges the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for the grant ‘Molecular Understanding of Thermo-Electric Properties in Organic Polymers (FA 1502/1-1)’, and the Regional Computing Centre (RRZK) of Universität zu Köln, for providing computing time and resources on the HPC CHEOPS.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Chemistry
General Materials Science
Condensed Matter Physics
Mechanics of Materials
Mechanical Engineering

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Xu, K., Sun, H., Ruoko, T. P., Wang, G., Kroon, R., Kolhe, N. B., Puttisong, Y., Liu, X., Fazzi, D., Shibata, K., Yang, C. Y., Sun, N., Persson, G., Yankovich, A. B., Olsson, E., Yoshida, H., Chen, W. M., Fahlman, M., Kemerink, M., ... Fabiano, S. (2020). Ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions. Nature Materials, 19(7), 738-744. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-0618-7

@article{eb992b9e2207455584dca7fa196a9c7d,

title = "Ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions",

abstract = "Doping of organic semiconductors is crucial for the operation of organic (opto)electronic and electrochemical devices. Typically, this is achieved by adding heterogeneous dopant molecules to the polymer bulk, often resulting in poor stability and performance due to dopant sublimation or aggregation. In small-molecule donor–acceptor systems, charge transfer can yield high and stable electrical conductivities, an approach not yet explored in all-conjugated polymer systems. Here, we report ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions. Combining low-ionization-energy polymers with high-electron-affinity counterparts yields conducting interfaces with resistivity values five to six orders of magnitude lower than the separate single-layer polymers. The large decrease in resistivity originates from two parallel quasi-two-dimensional electron and hole distributions reaching a concentration of ∼1013 cm–2. Furthermore, we transfer the concept to three-dimensional bulk heterojunctions, displaying exceptional thermal stability due to the absence of molecular dopants. Our findings hold promise for electro-active composites of potential use in, for example, thermoelectrics and wearable electronics.",

author = "Kai Xu and Hengda Sun and Ruoko, {Tero Petri} and Gang Wang and Renee Kroon and Kolhe, {Nagesh B.} and Yuttapoom Puttisong and Xianjie Liu and Daniele Fazzi and Koki Shibata and Yang, {Chi Yuan} and Ning Sun and Gustav Persson and Yankovich, {Andrew B.} and Eva Olsson and Hiroyuki Yoshida and Chen, {Weimin M.} and Mats Fahlman and Martijn Kemerink and Jenekhe, {Samson A.} and Christian M{\"u}ller and Magnus Berggren and Simone Fabiano",

note = "Funding Information: We thank C. Musumeci (Link{\"o}ping University) for assistance with atomic force microscopy and S. Gustafsson (Chalmers) for assistance with TEM specimen preparation. This work was supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation, VINNOVA (grant no. 2015-04859), the Swedish Research Council (grant agreement nos. 2016-03979, 2016-06146, 2016-05498, 2016-05990, 2018-03824), the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Link{\"o}ping University (Faculty Grant SFO Mat LiU no. 2009 00971), {\AA}Forsk (18-313) and the European Research Council (ERC) under grant agreement no. 637624. We also thank the Chalmers Material Analysis Laboratory for their support of microscopes. T.P.R acknowledges funding from the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion. N.S. thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 61805211). H.Y. acknowledges JST ALCA (JPMJAL1404) and the Futaba Foundation. Work at the University of Washington was supported by the National Science Foundation (DMR-1708450). D.F. acknowledges the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for the grant {\textquoteleft}Molecular Understanding of Thermo-Electric Properties in Organic Polymers (FA 1502/1-1){\textquoteright}, and the Regional Computing Centre (RRZK) of Universit{\"a}t zu K{\"o}ln, for providing computing time and resources on the HPC CHEOPS. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.",

year = "2020",

month = jul,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1038/s41563-020-0618-7",

language = "English",

volume = "19",

pages = "738--744",

journal = "Nature Materials",

issn = "1476-1122",

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Xu, K, Sun, H, Ruoko, TP, Wang, G, Kroon, R, Kolhe, NB, Puttisong, Y, Liu, X, Fazzi, D, Shibata, K, Yang, CY, Sun, N, Persson, G, Yankovich, AB, Olsson, E, Yoshida, H, Chen, WM, Fahlman, M, Kemerink, M, Jenekhe, SA, Müller, C, Berggren, M & Fabiano, S 2020, 'Ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions', Nature Materials, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 738-744. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-0618-7

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions

AU - Xu, Kai

AU - Sun, Hengda

AU - Ruoko, Tero Petri

AU - Wang, Gang

AU - Kroon, Renee

AU - Kolhe, Nagesh B.

AU - Puttisong, Yuttapoom

AU - Liu, Xianjie

AU - Fazzi, Daniele

AU - Shibata, Koki

AU - Yang, Chi Yuan

AU - Sun, Ning

AU - Persson, Gustav

AU - Yankovich, Andrew B.

AU - Olsson, Eva

AU - Yoshida, Hiroyuki

AU - Chen, Weimin M.

AU - Fahlman, Mats

AU - Kemerink, Martijn

AU - Jenekhe, Samson A.

AU - Müller, Christian

AU - Berggren, Magnus

AU - Fabiano, Simone

N1 - Funding Information: We thank C. Musumeci (Linköping University) for assistance with atomic force microscopy and S. Gustafsson (Chalmers) for assistance with TEM specimen preparation. This work was supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation, VINNOVA (grant no. 2015-04859), the Swedish Research Council (grant agreement nos. 2016-03979, 2016-06146, 2016-05498, 2016-05990, 2018-03824), the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO Mat LiU no. 2009 00971), ÅForsk (18-313) and the European Research Council (ERC) under grant agreement no. 637624. We also thank the Chalmers Material Analysis Laboratory for their support of microscopes. T.P.R acknowledges funding from the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion. N.S. thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 61805211). H.Y. acknowledges JST ALCA (JPMJAL1404) and the Futaba Foundation. Work at the University of Washington was supported by the National Science Foundation (DMR-1708450). D.F. acknowledges the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for the grant ‘Molecular Understanding of Thermo-Electric Properties in Organic Polymers (FA 1502/1-1)’, and the Regional Computing Centre (RRZK) of Universität zu Köln, for providing computing time and resources on the HPC CHEOPS. Publisher Copyright: © 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

PY - 2020/7/1

Y1 - 2020/7/1

N2 - Doping of organic semiconductors is crucial for the operation of organic (opto)electronic and electrochemical devices. Typically, this is achieved by adding heterogeneous dopant molecules to the polymer bulk, often resulting in poor stability and performance due to dopant sublimation or aggregation. In small-molecule donor–acceptor systems, charge transfer can yield high and stable electrical conductivities, an approach not yet explored in all-conjugated polymer systems. Here, we report ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions. Combining low-ionization-energy polymers with high-electron-affinity counterparts yields conducting interfaces with resistivity values five to six orders of magnitude lower than the separate single-layer polymers. The large decrease in resistivity originates from two parallel quasi-two-dimensional electron and hole distributions reaching a concentration of ∼1013 cm–2. Furthermore, we transfer the concept to three-dimensional bulk heterojunctions, displaying exceptional thermal stability due to the absence of molecular dopants. Our findings hold promise for electro-active composites of potential use in, for example, thermoelectrics and wearable electronics.

AB - Doping of organic semiconductors is crucial for the operation of organic (opto)electronic and electrochemical devices. Typically, this is achieved by adding heterogeneous dopant molecules to the polymer bulk, often resulting in poor stability and performance due to dopant sublimation or aggregation. In small-molecule donor–acceptor systems, charge transfer can yield high and stable electrical conductivities, an approach not yet explored in all-conjugated polymer systems. Here, we report ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions. Combining low-ionization-energy polymers with high-electron-affinity counterparts yields conducting interfaces with resistivity values five to six orders of magnitude lower than the separate single-layer polymers. The large decrease in resistivity originates from two parallel quasi-two-dimensional electron and hole distributions reaching a concentration of ∼1013 cm–2. Furthermore, we transfer the concept to three-dimensional bulk heterojunctions, displaying exceptional thermal stability due to the absence of molecular dopants. Our findings hold promise for electro-active composites of potential use in, for example, thermoelectrics and wearable electronics.

U2 - 10.1038/s41563-020-0618-7

DO - 10.1038/s41563-020-0618-7

M3 - Article

C2 - 32152564

AN - SCOPUS:85081657436

SN - 1476-1122

VL - 19

SP - 738

EP - 744

JO - Nature Materials

JF - Nature Materials

IS - 7

ER -

Ground-state electron transfer in all-polymer donor–acceptor heterojunctions

Abstract

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