Benzotrithiophene copolymers: Influence of molecular packing and energy levels on charge carrier mobility

The planar benzotrithiophene unit (BTT) was incorporated into four different donor polymers, and by systematically changing the nature and positioning of the solubilizing alkyl side chains along the conjugated backbone, the polymers' frontier energy levels and optoelectronic properties were controlled. Reducing the steric hindrance along the polymer backbone lead to strong interchain aggregation and highly ordered thin films, achieving hole mobilities of 0.04 cm2/(V s) in organic thin film transistors. In an attempt to increase the polymer's processability and reduce chain aggregation, steric hindrance between alkyl side chains was exploited. As a result of the increased solubility, the film forming properties of the polymer could be improved, but at the cost of reduced hole mobilities in OFET devices, due to the lack of long-range order in the polymer films. © 2014 American Chemical Society.