Synthesis, Characterization, and Field-Effect Transistor Properties of Perylene Diimide Organic Semiconductor Polymers with Tailored Structures of Indacenodithiophene

Abstract

Organic semiconductor polymers have long been considered one of the most promising contenders for commercial applications, thanks to their exceptional advantages, including mechanical flexibility, lightweight with adjustable absorption spectra, customizable electronic energy levels, and outstanding thermal stability. Herein, three organic semiconductor polymers alternating the perylene diimide (PDI) group and tailored indacenodithiophene (IDT) structures were designed and synthesized by utilizing PDI as the acceptor (A) and IDT as the donor (D). The D–A-type PDI derivative was developed. The study revealed the impact of structural variations on optical and electrochemical properties and investigated the potential of these polymers as active components in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). All the amorphous polymers demonstrated good thermal stability and exhibited dominant n-type semiconductor carrier transport behavior, with the highest electron mobility on the order of magnitude of 10^–3 and I_on/I_off on the order of magnitude of 10⁵.