Impact of Polystyrene Oligomer Side Chains on Naphthalene Diimide–Bithiophene Polymers as n-Type Semiconductors for Organic Field-Effect Transistors

A series of naphthalene diimide-based conjugated polymers are prepared with various molar percentage of low molecular weight polystyrene (PS) oligomer of narrow polydispersity as the side chain. The PS side chains are incorporated through preparation of a macromonomer by chain termination of living anionic polymerization. The effects of the PS side chains amount (0–20 mol%) versus overall sidechain on the electrical properties of the resulting polymers as n-type polymer semiconductors in field-effect transistors are investigated. We observe that all the studied polymers show similarly high electron mobility (≈0.2 cm2 V−1 s−1). Importantly, the polymers with high PS side chain content (20 mol%) show a significantly improved device stability under ambient conditions, when compared to the polymers at lower PS content (0–10 mol%). By comparing this observation to the physical blending of the conjugated polymer with PS, we attribute the improved stability to the covalently attached PS side chains potentially serving as a molecular encapsulating layer around the conjugated polymer backbone, rendering it less susceptible to electron traps such as oxygen and water molecules.