Polymer, Vol.155, 146-151, 2018
Blends of polythiophene nanowire/fluorine rubber with multiscale phase separation suitable for stretchable semiconductors
We report an effective approach to prepare stretchable semiconductors by simply blending P3HT nanowires with fluorine rubber. The hole mobility of the field-effect transistors with the blend films as active layers is higher than that of pristine P3HT, and the mobility can maintain over 10(-3) CM2 v(-1) s(-1) under 100% strain or even after 400 stretching/releasing cycles at 60% strain. The structures of the blend films were probed by TEM, AFM, X-ray diffraction, and polarized UV-vis spectrometry, which was then correlated to the electrical and the mechanical properties of the films. We find that because of the low miscibility between P3HT and fluorine rubber as well as the highly crystalline nature of P3HT, the blends phase separate into unique multiscale structures that can simultaneously enhance the charge transporting capability and the stretchability of the blend films.