Synthesis of semiconducting polymers through soluble precursor polymers with thermally removable groups and their application to organic transistors

Novel semiconducting polymers consisting of thiophene and anthracene units without alkyl groups were successfully synthesized through soluble precursor polymers and applied to the organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). Thermal elimination of leaving groups from the precursor polymers by retro Diels-Alder reaction was proved by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), FT-IR, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The resulting films of the semiconducting polymers showed good surface morphologies even after thermal elimination, resulting in good semiconducting behavior with mobility of 0.015 cm² V^-1 s^-1 in the typical top-contact OTFT. In addition, the devices based on these polymers are stable under ambient conditions and maintained good transistor performance even after being stored in air for 2 months.