Peking University Develops Effective Strategies to Achieve Solid-state Microstructure of Conjugated Polymers

Conjugated polymers are a type of polymer compounds with special light and electrical properties. They have a strong ability to capture light and amplify the fluorescent signal, as well as high light and thermal stability. They are widely used in pathogenic microorganisms, metal ions, small Highly sensitive diagnosis and detection of molecular compounds and disease-related biomarkers.

Solution-state aggregation of conjugated polymers is critical in determining their solid-state microstructures and optoelectronic performance. However, controlling the solution-state aggregation of conjugated polymers for producing specific microstructures remains challenging. Recently, researchers from Peking University reported an effective strategy to fine-tune the solid-state microstructure through temperature-controlled liquid-phase coagulation and polymer crystallization, which is a major breakthrough in the field of conjugated polymer research.

Researchers finely tune the solid-state microstructures through temperature-controlled solution-state aggregation and polymer crystallization. High temperature generates significant conformation fluctuation of conjugated backbones in solution, which facilitates the polymer crystallization from solvated aggregates to orderly-packed structures. The polymer films deposited at high temperatures exhibit less structural disorders and higher electron mobilities (up to two orders of magnitude) in field-effect transistors, compared to those deposited at low temperatures.

This work provides an effective strategy to tune the solution-state aggregation to reveal the relationship between solution-state aggregation and solid-state microstructures of conjugated polymers, which could accelerate the development of high-performance polymer optoelectronic devices.

references:

Ze-Fan Yao, et al, Ordered Solid-State Microstructures of Conjugated Polymers Arisen from Solution-State Aggregation, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2020, DOI: 10.1002/anie.202007589