High carrier mobility polythiophene thin films: Structure determination by experiment and theory

DeLongchamp, Dean M.; Kline, R. Joseph; Lin, Eric K.; Fischer, Daniel A.; Richter, Lee J.; Lucas, Leah A.; Heeney, Martin; McCulloch, Iain; Northrup, John E.

ADVANCED MATERIALS

2007

The structure within crystalline thin films of a high-carrier-mobility polythiophene is studied with complementary characterization methods and first-principles theory. As shown in the figure, two important structural aspects are revealed: 1) a slip in the face-to-face π-π packing, which strongly influences carrier mobility, and 2) the interdigitation of highly trans side chains between vertically adjacent lamellae.