Synthesis of Chemically Stable Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons for High-Performance Organic Electronics

University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

Nontechnical Description: Organic semiconductors are of growing importance for solution-processed transistors, for lighting applications, and as materials used to generate solar energy due to the prospect for low-cost production of these materials. For all these applications, it is crucial that the organic semiconductor materials exhibit high performance and chemical stability. This project aims to develop a new class of organic semiconductor materials for use in high-performance electronic applications. Specifically, this project explores how molecular design will affect chemical stability, crystallization, and device performance. Understanding the structure-property relationship in these molecular systems will allow scientists to rationally design even better materials for use in real-world consumer electronic devices. In addition to providing research opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds (utilizing the Graduate Students for Diversity in Science & Engineering at University of Massachusetts - Amherst that the PI created), the new scientific concepts created in this project are discussed in tutorials and workshops at international conferences, and also taught to high-school students from two nearby schools that serve a population of minority students in western Massachusetts. Technical Description: This project explores the hypothesis that the addition of one or more aromatic pi sextets (benzenoid rings) in angular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon semiconductors can improve the molecular packing in crystalline thin films, charge transport properties, and chemical stability due to increased resonance stabilization energies. The hypothesis is being verified through the characterization of crystalline thin films via x-ray analysis, transistor measurements, and theory/computational methods to explore transition states of pericyclic/cycloaddition reactions. The unique approach and use of a new class of aromatic semiconductors combined with theory and sophisticated scattering methods contribute to connecting fundamental principles of molecular design to charge transport at organic-organic and organic-substrate interfaces.