Switching phase separation mode by varying the hydrophobicity of polymer additives in solution-processed semiconducting small-molecule/polymer blends

Lateral and vertical phase separations play critical roles in the performance of the next-generation organic and hybrid electronic devices. A method is demonstrated here to switch between lateral and vertical phase separations in semiconducting 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPSE pentacene)/polymer blend films by simply varying the alkyl length of the polyacrylate polymer component. The phase separation modes depend on intermolecular interactions between small molecule TIPSE pentancene and polymer additives. The blend film with a dominant vertical phase separation exhibits a significant enhancement in average mobility and performance consistency of organic thin-film transistors.