Fluorination of metal phthalocyanines: single-crystal growth, efficient N-channel organic field-effect transistors, and structure-property relationships.

The fluorination of p-type metal phthalocyanines produces n-type semiconductors, allowing the design of organic electronic circuits that contain inexpensive heterojunctions made from chemically and thermally stable p- and n-type organic semiconductors. For the evaluation of close to intrinsic transport properties, high-quality centimeter-sized single crystals of F16CuPc, F16CoPc and F16ZnPc have been grown. New crystal structures of F16CuPc, F16CoPc and F16ZnPc have been determined. Organic single-crystal field-effect transistors have been fabricated to study the effects of the central metal atom on their charge transport properties. The F16ZnPc has the highest electron mobility (~1.1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)). Theoretical calculations indicate that the crystal structure and electronic structure of the central metal atom determine the transport properties of fluorinated metal phthalocyanines.