Abstract
Discotic (disk-shaped) molecules or molecular aggregates may form, within a certain temperature range, partially ordered phases, known as discotic liquid crystals, which have been extensively studied in the recent past. On the one hand, this interest was prompted by the fact that they represent models for testing energy and charge transport theories in organic materials. However, their long-range self-assembling properties, potential low cost, ease of processability with a variety of solvents and the relative ease of tailoring their properties via chemical synthesis, drove the attention of researchers also towards the exploitation of their semiconducting properties in organic electronic devices. This review covers recent research on the charge transport properties of discotic mesophases, starting with an introduction to their phase structure, followed by an overview of the models used to describe charge mobility in organic substances in general and in these systems in particular, and by the description of the techniques most commonly used to measure their charge mobility. The reader already familiar or not interested in such details can easily skip these sections and refer to the core section of this work, focusing on the most recent and significant results regarding charge mobility in discotic liquid crystals.
Highlights
The constantly growing demand for devices with novel features has prompted the search for materials with improved performances, on which devices are based
For several decades organic semiconductors have been the subject of many studies [1,2,3], sustained by confidence in the opinion that they might one day replace, or at least compete with, more traditional inorganic materials
Such a confidence is based on several properties of carbon-based semiconductors, including the relative ease of specific tailoring of their properties via chemical synthesis, the potential low cost when mass producing them, and the possibility of using wet processes during device fabrication
Summary
The constantly growing demand for devices with novel features has prompted the search for materials with improved performances, on which devices are based. EOrtahleornsgmthecetidciprehcatisoens,ninoramddalittioonthteo ltahyeelrasy, ewrehdilestwruicthtuinret,hmealayyeexrhsitbhiet rfeuristohnelrydoergireenetsatoifoonraileonrtdateiro.nOalthaenrdspmoescittiiocnpahlaosredse,rinwaitdhdinititohne ltaoytehres:laasyethreedosrdtreurcitnucrree,amseasy, tehxehsibtriut fcuturtrheegredtesgcrleoesserofanordiecnlotasteirontoaltahnedopnoesoitfioan3aDl osrodleidr .wIniththinetmheolsatyoerrds:eraesdthsemoercdteicr piisnnhmcdaresiecreatesisc,cetcispho,hanthrasgseweessmit,trhucoihcbntaiulrtihrgteieeegslmaeuytospebcrtilolpoit1sliae0enr−s2ea–usn1,p0db−t1ucocltom1es0xe2−crVe2t−p–o1·1tsti0−oh1−nec1aoo·lcunmvleda2olb·ufVeea−sm31oD·efsa−tssho1uelrciedood.rudIlfndoerrtbhcoehef am1mr0geoaecsmsstumo2rreVoddv−e1ir·fnseo−gd1r w1ch0earcremgae2ls·sVom−ro1ev·psion−rg1tewinded[r2eir7ea]cl.stioornespworitthedin[t2h7e].layer planes, but exceptional values of the order of FFiigguurree11..SScchheemmaattiiccmmoolleeccuullaarr oorrgganization in smectic A (formed by roodd--lliikkee mmoolleeccuulleess))aannddccool-umlnuamr n(faorr(mfoerdmbeyddbiyscd-liiskce-lmikoelmecoulleecsu) lmese)smopehsoapsehsa.ses. It was in the mesophases formed by molecules with a disk-like shape (see Figure 1) that charge transport showed the most consistent and promising results. Different columns are organized to form a regular 2D lattice, so that these phases can be considered as 2D solids, as described in detail In such columnar phases, high and highly anisotropic charge mobilities were measured, with the highest mobilities along the columnar axes.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
