Three-Dimensional Photo-Cross-Linkers for Nondestructive Photopatterning of Electronic Materials

IF 14 Q1 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Shahid Ameen, Myeongjae Lee, Moon Sung Kang, Jeong Ho Cho and BongSoo Kim*, 
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Solution-processed electronics have shown promise in cost-effective manufacturing, but face challenges in precisely and accurately placing electronic materials. Traditional methods, such as photolithography with photoresists, involve complex steps that can damage electronic materials. Alternatives such as orthogonal patterning and inkjet printing are limited by the difficulty of finding compatible chemicals that do not dissolve underlying layers, while nanoimprinting lacks compatibility with high-throughput processes and suffers from poor chemical robustness. Conventional photo-cross-linking approaches have used organic or polymeric agents to pattern electronic layers, but the consecutive application of photo-cross-linking processes for patterning and stacking of multiple electronic materials typically led to degradation of the intrinsic properties of the materials.

To overcome these issues, we have demonstrated a promising photopatterning strategy of using highly efficient, three-dimensional photo-cross-linkers bearing multiple phenyl azides. Specifically, electronic materials hosting a minimal amount of the photo-cross-linkers were photo-cross-linked under UV through a photomask, followed by subsequent removal of the uncross-linked parts using a developing solvent. This method produces a patterned electronic layer that maintains chemical and physical stability while enhancing the thermal and mechanical stabilities. The successive patterning of electronic materials in this approach has precise control over parallel or vertical stacking of high-resolution electronic material layers without optical/electrical property loss. This Account provides an overview of our efforts toward photopatterning electronic materials in the field of polymer thin film transistors (PTFTs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs). First, two azide-based multibridged photo-cross-linkers (i.e., 4Bx and 6Bx) were developed and applied to fabricate all-solution-processed PTFTs. These cross-linkers have excellent cross-linkability compared to a conventional bifunctional photo-cross-linker (i.e., 2Bx), leading to fabricating thin-film electronic layer patterns and acquiring chemical resistance of each layer. Moreover, they effectively reduce leakage current and enhance the electrical strength in dielectric layers. This research underscores the crucial role of efficient cross-linkers in achieving all-solution-processed, all-photopatterned organic electronic devices while preserving their intrinsic electrical properties of employed semiconducting polymers. These cross-linkers have also been applied for OLEDs, which produces high-resolution photopatterned light-emitting polymer semiconductors. Furthermore, azide-based photo-cross-linking chemistry has been applied to the patterning of luminescent QDs. A breakthrough approach of utilizing a bulky isopropyl group-containing photo-cross-linker (i.e., IP-6-LiXer) has been demonstrated to form high-fidelity patterns of heavy-metal-free QDs to realize high-resolution full-color QD-LEDs. IP-6-LiXer allows efficient photo-cross-linking between QDs without harming the optical/electrical properties of QDs. The six azide groups at its terminals cross-link the QDs by forming covalent bonds selectively with the ligands on the QD surfaces. The isopropyl groups in IP-6-LiXer inhibit the undesirable chemical contact between azide groups and core metals in the QDs. This characteristic of these cross-linkers leads to nondestructive direct photopatterning of luminescent heavy-metal-free QDs. Lastly, we conclude that our approaches have been effective across various electronic materials, including polymers and QDs, emphasizing the versatility and potentials in the various optoelectronic devices.

Abstract Image

用于电子材料无损光刻的三维光交联剂
溶液加工电子产品在具有成本效益的制造方面显示出前景,但在精确和准确地放置电子材料方面面临挑战。传统的方法,如使用光刻胶的光刻,涉及复杂的步骤,可能会损坏电子材料。诸如正交图案和喷墨印刷等替代方法由于难以找到不溶解底层的兼容化学物质而受到限制,而纳米印迹与高通量工艺缺乏兼容性,并且化学稳定性差。传统的光交联方法使用有机或聚合物剂来设计电子层,但是连续应用光交联工艺来设计和堆叠多个电子材料通常会导致材料固有特性的退化。为了克服这些问题,我们已经展示了一种很有前途的光模式策略,即使用含有多个苯基叠氮化物的高效三维光交联剂。具体来说,通过光掩膜在紫外线下进行光交联,然后使用显影溶剂去除未交联的部分。这种方法产生了一个有图案的电子层,它保持了化学和物理稳定性,同时增强了热稳定性和机械稳定性。在这种方法中,电子材料的连续图案可以精确控制高分辨率电子材料层的平行或垂直堆叠,而不会造成光学/电学性能损失。本报告概述了我们在聚合物薄膜晶体管(ptft)、有机发光二极管(oled)和量子点发光二极管(qd - led)领域对电子材料的光图像化研究。首先,开发了两种叠氮基多桥光交联剂(即4Bx和6Bx),并将其应用于制造全溶液处理的ptft。与传统的双功能光交联剂(即2Bx)相比,这些交联剂具有优异的交联性,导致制造薄膜电子层图案并获得每层的耐化学性。此外,它们还能有效地降低漏电电流,提高介电层的电强度。这项研究强调了高效交联剂在实现全溶液处理、全光模式有机电子器件同时保持所使用半导体聚合物的固有电学特性方面的关键作用。这些交联剂也被应用于oled,用于生产高分辨率的光模式发光聚合物半导体。此外,叠氮基光交联化学已被应用于发光量子点的图图化。利用大体积的含异丙基光交联剂(即IP-6-LiXer)形成高保真的无重金属量子点图案,实现高分辨率全彩量子点led的突破性方法已经被证明。IP-6-LiXer允许在量子点之间进行有效的光交联,而不会损害量子点的光学/电学性质。其末端的六个叠氮基团通过选择性地与量子点表面的配体形成共价键来交联量子点。IP-6-LiXer中的异丙基抑制了叠氮化物基团与量子点核心金属之间的不良化学接触。这些交联剂的这种特性导致了发光无重金属量子点的非破坏性直接光模式。最后,我们得出结论,我们的方法在各种电子材料上都是有效的,包括聚合物和量子点,强调了各种光电器件的多功能性和潜力。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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CiteScore
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