Nanoscale Engineering of Ladder-Like Polysilsesquioxane Dielectric Surfaces Enables High-Performance Flexible Electronics
Achieving high-performance flexible organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) operating at low voltages is vital for next-generation electronics. Here, we report a novel ladder-like polysilsesquioxane (LPSQ) dielectric with nanoscale functionalities (long alkyl chains and epoxy groups) that simultaneously enhance organic semiconductor (OSC) self-assembly and dielectric performance. Alkyl chains promote chain-on crystallization of C10-DNTT, while epoxy groups boost dielectric polarization and enable UV photopatterning. This yields an ultralow interface trap density of 6.00 × 10<sup>11</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> and record-high hole mobility of 15.55 cm<sup>2</sup>/V·s at 5 V. The resulting OTFTs show excellent stability (threshold shift < 1 V over 200 min) and robust flexibility on PET substrates. Moreover, leveraging the dielectric's patternability, fully solution-processed flexible logic circuits (inverters and NAND/NOR gates) with voltage gains of up to 37.2 at 5 V are demonstrated. This work provides a molecular design strategy for high-k LPSQ dielectrics toward practical low-voltage flexible electronics.
Authors
- Xiaowu Tang
- Miao Du (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1029-1820)
- Yingying Lü (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9713-8441)
- Yong Jin Jeong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4479-7683)
- Xuying Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9190-4651)
- Hyeok‐jin Kwon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6106-0619)
- Heqing Ye
- Qingqing Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6019-9272)
- Zengchao Zhang
- Chuan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0695-592X)
- Xiangyang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3406-7396)
- Hailong Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0725-2326)
- Jihoon Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7736-027X)
- Zhihong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5888-4107)
- Linlin Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8862-6670)
- Qiancheng Zhao
- Shengyun Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3771-9046)
- Zhenbo Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3944-2557)
- Se Hyun Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7818-1903)
- Xiaoguang Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8979-944X)
- Benliang Hou
Institutions
- Korea National University of Transportation (KR)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Henan University (CN)
- Institute of Technology of Cambodia (KH)
- Zhengzhou University of Light Industry (CN)
- Konkuk University (KR)
- Zhengzhou University (CN)
- Konkuk University Medical Center (KR)
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry (CN)
- Materials Technologies (United States) (US)
- RE Hydrogen (United Kingdom) (GB)
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technology
- Pukyong National University (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nano Letters
- Published
- 2025-07-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c02268
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.02