Carrier Transport Enhancement in Conjugated Polymers through Interfacial Self-Assembly of Solution-State Aggregates.

We demonstrate that local and long-range orders of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) semicrystalline films can be synergistically improved by combining chemical functionalization of the substrate with solution-state disentanglement and preaggregation of P3HT in a θ solvent, leading to a very significant enhancement of the field effect carrier mobility. The preaggregation and surface functionalization effects combine to enhance the carrier mobility nearly 100-fold as compared with standard film preparation by spin-coating, and nearly 10-fold increase over the benefits of preaggregation alone. In situ quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) experiments reveal enhanced deposition of preaggregates on surfaces modified with an alkyl-terminated self-assembled monolayer (SAM) in comparison to unaggregated polymer chains in the same conditions.

Solvent vapor annealing in the molecular regime drastically improves carrier transport in small-molecule thin-film transistors.

We demonstrate a new way to investigate and control the solvent vapor annealing of solution-cast organic semiconductor thin films. Solvent vapor annealing of spin-cast films of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-Pn) is investigated in situ using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) capability, allowing us to monitor both solvent mass uptake and changes in the mechanical rigidity of the film. Using time-resolved grazing incidence wide angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) and complementary static atomic force microscopy (AFM), we demonstrate that solvent vapor annealing in the molecular regime can cause significant performance improvements in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs), whereas allowing the solvent to percolate and form a liquid phase results in catastrophic reorganization and dewetting of the film, making the process counterproductive.

Surface initiated polymerization on pulsed plasma deposited polyallylamine: a polymer substrate-independent strategy to soft surfaces with polymer brushes.

The deposition of polyallylamine (PAA) adlayers by pulsed plasma polymerization on various types of polymeric substrates has been explored as a general route to amino functionalized polymeric surfaces. These amino groups are highly suitable for anchoring an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiator via a robust amide linkage. Subsequent surface initiated ATRP (SI-ATRP) of monomethoxy oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (MeOEGMA) resulted in polyMeOEGMA brush grafted polymer surfaces.

Effect of passivation on the sensitivity and stability of pentacene transistor sensors in aqueous media.

Charge-detecting biosensors have recently become the focal point of biosensor research, especially research onto organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), which combine compactness, a low cost, and fast and label-free detection to realize simple and stable in vivo diagnostic systems. We fabricated organic pentacene-based bottom-contact thin-film transistors with an ultra-thin insulating layer of a cyclized perfluoro polymer called CYTOP (Asahi Glass Co., Tokyo, Japan) on SiO(2) for operation in aqueous media.

In situ antibody detection and charge discrimination using aqueous stable pentacene transistor biosensors.

Pentacene-based organic thin-film transistors were used to create highly sensitive, real-time electronic sensors for selective antibody detection. Bovine serum albumin was covalently attached to a modified pentacene surface to selectively detect the label free monoclonal antiBSA. These sensors displayed a high affinity constant (K(A)) of (1.