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Catalyst‐Free, Fast, and Tunable Synthesis for Robust Covalent Polymer Network Semiconducting Thin Films
Author(s) -
Yao Liang,
Rahmanudin Aiman,
Jeanbourquin Xavier A.,
Yu Xiaoyun,
Johnson Melissa,
Guijarro Néstor,
Sekar Arvindh,
Sivula Kevin
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201706303
Subject(s) - materials science , thin film , covalent bond , polymer , photovoltaics , nanotechnology , semiconductor , optoelectronics , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , photovoltaic system , composite material , ecology , chemistry , engineering , biology
Covalent polymer networks (CPNs) are of great technological interest due to their robustness and tunability; however, they are rarely applied as semiconductors in optoelectronic devices due to poor material processability. Herein, a simple, rapid, and powerful approach is reported to prepare CPN thin films based on an in situ thermal azide–alkyne cycloaddition (TAAC) in the absence of catalyst or solvent. The method is demonstrated with perylenediimide and triazine‐based monomers, and affords smooth and homogenous CPN films through solution processing and heat treatment (10 min). Moreover, the site‐specific TAAC realizes semiconducting CPNs without undesired impurities or byproducts, and tunable optoelectronic properties are achieved by varying the reaction temperature, which affects the intermolecular self‐assembly. The obtained CPN films exhibit exceptional solvent resistance and good n‐type semiconducting behavior, which together afford application in a series of multilayer solution‐processed organic photovoltaics, where the presence of CPN films significantly improves the solar energy conversion efficiency to over 8% (7% in control devices) when the CPN is used in a planar‐mixed heterojunction device architecture.