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Fully Printed Organic Electrochemical Transistors from Green Solvents
Author(s) -
Schmatz Brian,
Lang Augustus W.,
Reynolds John R.
Publication year - 2019
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.201905266
Subject(s) - materials science , transconductance , transistor , pedot:pss , nanotechnology , thin film transistor , organic electronics , aqueous solution , solution process , optoelectronics , layer (electronics) , voltage , electrical engineering , organic chemistry , chemistry , engineering
Abstract To achieve the full potential of scalable and cost‐effective organic electronic devices, developments are being made in both academic and industry environments to move toward continuous solution‐processing techniques that make use of safe and environmentally benign “green” solvents. In this work, the first example of a transistor device that is fully solution processed using only green solvents is demonstrated. This achievement is enabled through a novel multistage cleavable side chain process that provides aqueous solubility for semiconducting conjugated polymers, paired with aqueous inkjet printing of PEDOT:PSS electrodes, and a solution deposited ion gel electrolyte as the dielectric layer. The resulting organic electrochemical transistor devices operate in accumulation mode and reach maximum transconductance values of 1.1 mS at a gate voltage of − 1 V. Normalizing the transconductance value to the channel dimensions yields g m / W = 2200 S m −1 ( µC * = 22 F cm −1 V −1 s −1 ), making these devices suitable for a range of applications requiring small signal amplification such as transistors, biosensors, and ion pumps. This new material design and device process paves the way toward scalable, safe, and efficient production of organic electronic devices.