Vertical phase separation of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends prepared by electrostatic spray deposition for organic field-effect transistors

Abstract

Blend films composed of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were prepared by electrostatic spray deposition (ESD). ESD is considered as an intermediate process between dry and wet processes since the solvent present in small droplets can almost be evaporated before arriving at the substrate. Post-drying treatments with the time-consuming evaporation of residual solvents can be omitted. However, it is still not clear that a vertically phase-separated structure can be formed in the ESD process since the vertical phase separation of the blend films is associated with the solvent evaporation. In this study, we fabricated bottom-gate, top-contact organic field-effect transistors based on the blend films prepared by ESD and the devices exhibited transistor behavior with small hysteresis. This result demonstrates that the vertical phase separation of a blend film (upper TIPS pentacene active layer/bottom PMMA gate insulator) can occur in the facile one-step ESD process.