Aerosol-Assisted CVD for Side Chain-Free Organic Electronics
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Organic electronics have garnered widespread attention from the scientific community over the past few decades due to their potential in low-cost, large-area, and flexible device applications. These carbon-based materials have already entered the market in areas such as OLED displays and photovoltaics, and are composed of either small molecules or conjugated polymer films. The most common method for depositing conjugated polymer films is through solution processing. This requires the polymers to be dissolvable in solvents, which in most cases necessitates the addition of solubilizing side chains along the conjugated backbone. These side chains are electrically insulating, and their purpose is solely for processability. Eliminating them can allow for denser packing of the electrically conductive backbone and better performance and stability. Here, we introduce a novel aerosol-assisted CVD (AACVD) approach to deposit high-quality side chain-free conjugated polymer films. These films are highly stable, as solubility is no longer required for deposition, and are not limited to volatile monomers as in traditional CVD. First, I describe the development of a very crystalline thiophene-based film with high temperature and solvent tolerance via a condensation reaction. I then discuss the growth of a highly conductive polymer film through an oxidative polymerization route. Finally, I show the generalizability of AACVD and its potential for growing other types of polymer films, including 2D and carbon-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs). Our results demonstrate the versatility of AACVD and establish it as a promising platform for advancing polymer deposition methods.