Naphthodipyrrolidone (NDP) based conjugated polymers with high electron mobility and ambipolar transport properties

Two novel donor–acceptor π-conjugated polymers based on naphthodipyrrolidone (NDP) were synthesized and characterized. The polymers possess low band gaps and suitable molecular orbital levels as ambipolar semiconductors. The thin film organic field effect transistor of NDP polymers exhibited ambipolar transport properties with a high electron mobility up to 0.67 cm2 V−1 s−1. The grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) studies demonstrated that the polymer molecules pack into a long-range-ordered lamellar structure with isotropically oriented crystalline domains. Thermal annealing promoted edge-on lamellar stacking as evidenced by the increased diffraction intensity along the out-of-plane direction. The polymer with NDP and bithiophene units achieved the best edge-on lamellar stacking after thermal annealing, which yielded the best electron transport performance in this work.