Electrophilic-Attack Doped Organic Field-Effect Transistors for Ultrasensitive and Selective Hydrogen Sulfide Detection

Doping of organic semiconductors (OSCs) has been developed as an effective means of modulating the density and transfer efficiency of charge carriers; however, realization of effective doping to tailor the chemical sensing performance of OSC-based sensors still remains not explored extensively. In addition, the application of OSCs in chemical sensors is usually limited by the poor stability and low selectivity. Herein, flexible donor-acceptor copolymer-based organic field-effect transistor (OFET) chemical sensors are designed via an electrophilic attack doping strategy. The p-dopant trityl tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl) borate (TrTPFB) can be effectively doped into the host molecular <i>N</i>-alkyl-diketopyrrolo-pyrroledithienylthieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]thiophene (DPPDTT). It is simple to alter the doping efficiency and film thickness (<i>ca</i>. 5.5-17.7 nm) by adjusting the proportion and concentration of guest-host molecules, which endows facile carrier mobility and enhanced sensing sensitivity modulation toward reducing gases at room temperature. Particularly, 1.0 mol% TrTPFB-doped DPPDTT achieved the highest response to H₂S gas, including ultralow detection concentration (0.5 ppb), excellent selectivity, high humidity stability, and long-term storage stability. This work can provide a new strategy for the potential applications of the organic electronic sensing devices.