Structurally directed thienylenevinylene self-assembly for improved charge carrier mobility: 2D sheets vs. 1D fibers

Abstract

High charge carrier mobility is a prerequisite for organic electronics for which molecular arrangement and morphology play a vital role. Herein, we report how the self-assembly of thienylenevinylenes T1 and T2 can achieve morphologically distinct nanostructures with improved charge carrier mobility. Morphological analysis revealed that T1 forms 2D nanosheets that further extend to an array of hierarchical pseudo-1D assemblies, whereas T2 results in 1D nanofibers. Flash photolysis – time resolved microwave conductivity and transient absorption spectroscopy (FP-TRMC and TAS) revealed that 1D fibers of T2 show 1.75 fold higher charge carrier mobility (9.2 × 10⁻² cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) when compared to the array of 2D sheets obtained from T1 (5.0 × 10⁻² cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹). This simple approach can be extended to design self-assembled organic photoconducting materials for optoelectronic applications.