Amphiphilic Poly(3-hexylthiophene)-Based Semiconducting Copolymers for Printing of Polyelectrolyte-Gated Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Polyelectrolytes are promising electronically insulating layers for low-voltage organic field effect transistors. However, the polyelectrolyte–semiconductor interface is difficult to manufacture due to challenges in wettability. We introduce an amphiphilic semiconducting copolymer which, when spread as a thin film, can change its surface from hydrophobic to hydrophilic upon exposure to water. This peculiar wettability is exploited in the fabrication of polyelectrolyte-gated field-effect transistors operating below 0.5 V. The prepared amphiphilic semiconducting copolymer is based on a hydrophobic regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) covalently linked to a hydrophilic poly(sulfonated)-based random block. Such a copolymer is obtained in a three-step strategy combining Grignard metathesis (GRIM), atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) processes, and a postmodification method. The structure of the diblock copolymer was characterized using FT-IR, 1H NMR spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography...