Tetrathienoanthracene (TTA), a new discotic core fragment, is explored that shows a remarkably high hole mobility (μh) of 4.22 cm2 V-1 s-1 at room temperature when used in space-charge limited current (SCLC) devices. Strong co-facial interactions (π-π, S⋯S) among TTA cores along with a high tendency of the derivative to align homeotropically in the columnar mesophase over a large area in SCLC cells contributed to the top-class charge carrier mobility. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Upendra Kumar Pandey

Electrical Engineering

(SoE) School of Engineering

Bala I.

De J.

Gupta S.P.

Singh H.

Pal S.K.

<p>Shiv Nadar University is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, research-focused, and student-centric University offering a full range of academic programs at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. With state-of-the-art infrastructure, the University comprises of academic wings, sophisticated labs, international standard sports facilities, amphitheaters, auditorium, conference rooms and smart classrooms. The University&rsquo;s goal is to become internationally recognized for the quality of its research and creative endeavors and their applicability to improving quality of life, generating new insights and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge creativity. Committed to excellence in teaching, research and service, the University aims to serve the higher education needs of India and the world beyond.</p>

Shiv Nadar University

Chemical Communications

Heterocoronene, a new redox-active core fragment, is utilized for the synthesis of room-temperature columnar discotic liquid crystals (DLCs). Three wedge-shaped side chains having different lengths of alkyl tails are introduced at the periphery of the heterocoronene core to prepare three kinds of discotic molecules, 1 (R = C10H21), 2 (R = C12H25), and 3 (R = C14H29). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the packing variation in the columnar lattices regulated by alkyl chains of discrete length and steric bulk. When used in space charge limited current devices, compound 1 exhibits a high hole mobility value of 8.84 cm2/V s at ambient temperature, whereas compounds 2 and 3 show efficient ambipolar charge transport behavior with maximum hole (μh) and electron (μe) mobilities of 0.70 and 3.59 cm2/V s, respectively, for compound 3. The mobility values (μh = 8.84 cm2/V s for 1 and μe = 3.59 cm2/V s for 3) are remarkable and the highest ever disclosed for any DLC-based organic semiconductor, promising to deliver a good balance between mobility and processability in devices. The grazing incidence small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering experiments are employed to quantify the extent of alignment in the film state, which correlates with the observed trend of mobility values. © 2019 American Chemical Society.

Fulltext

Journal of the American Chemical Society

High Hole Mobility and Efficient Ambipolar Charge Transport in Heterocoronene-Based Ordered Columnar Discotics

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Increase in efficiency on using selenophene instead of thiophene in π-bridges for D-π-DPP-π-D organic solar cells

Chemical Society Reviews

Organic semiconductor crystals

Langmuir

Phase Behavior of a New Class of Anthraquinone-Based Discotic Liquid Crystals

Chemistry of Materials

High One-Dimensional Charge Mobility in Semiconducting Columnar Mesophases of Isocyano-Triphenylene Metal Complexes

High hole mobility in room temperature discotic liquid crystalline tetrathienoanthracenes