Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center of Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Optoelectronics Group, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.
Sci Adv. 2023 Feb 24;9(8):eadf3495. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adf3495.
The charge transport properties of conjugated polymers are commonly limited by the energetic disorder. Recently, several amorphous conjugated polymers with planar backbone conformations and low energetic disorder have been investigated for applications in field-effect transistors and thermoelectrics. However, there is a lack of strategy to finely tune the interchain π-π contacts of these polymers that severely restricts the energetic disorder of interchain charge transport. Here, we demonstrate that it is feasible to achieve excellent conductivity and thermoelectric performance in polymers based on thiophene-fused benzodifurandione oligo(-phenylenevinylene) through reducing the crystallization rate of side chains and, in this way, carefully controlling the degree of interchain π-π contacts. N-type (p-type) conductivities of more than 100 S cm (400 S cm) and power factors of more than 200 μW m K (100 μW m K) were achieved within a single polymer doped by different dopants. It further demonstrated the state-of-the-art power output of the first flexible single-polymer thermoelectric generator.
共轭聚合物的电荷输运性质通常受到能量无序的限制。最近，人们研究了几种具有平面骨架构象和低能量无序的无定形共轭聚合物，以应用于场效应晶体管和热电领域。然而，目前缺乏精细调控这些聚合物链间π-π相互作用的策略，这严重限制了链间电荷输运的能量无序。在这里，我们证明了通过降低侧链的结晶速率，可以在基于噻吩并苯并二呋喃二酮寡聚（-苯乙烯）的聚合物中实现优异的导电性和热电性能，从而可以精细控制链间π-π相互作用的程度。通过不同掺杂剂掺杂，在单个聚合物中实现了超过 100 S cm（400 S cm）的 n 型（p 型）电导率和超过 200 μW m K（100 μW m K）的功率因子。进一步证明了首个柔性单聚合物热电发电机的最新功率输出。
