Non‐Monotonic Sequence Control Maximizes Spin Transport in Conjugated Polymers at Room‐Temperature
Organic semiconductors have long spin lifetimes supporting non-tunneling spin transport at room temperature, providing a window to control spin transport and enable charge-spin co-processing. Programmable diversity in backbones and side chains expands the design space for tuning structure-transport relationships, yet links between structure and spin transport remain less explored than for charge transport. Focusing on repeat-unit sequence effects on spin transport, a nonmonotonic dependence where intermediate sequence order optimizes π-π packing by balancing long-range coherence and chain flexibility, maximizing spin-transport efficiency is revealed. The three-component regioregular copolymer tightens π-π spacing to 3.48 Å and extends coherence, yielding mobility 0.43 cm<sup>2</sup> V<sup>-1</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> and an on/off ratio near 6 × 10<sup>6</sup>. Stronger cohesion in a bicomponent alternating species flattens the backbone yet widens d<sub>π</sub> and shortens coherence; frontier levels and dihedral angles support this microstructural origin of lower mobility. Electron paramagnetic resonance gives a T1 of 101 ns for the alternating copolymer; spin valves show >8% room-temperature non-tunneling magnetoresistance ratio, ≈200% above bicomponent alternating species. This non-monotonic design rule provides a synthesis strategy to extend spin lifetimes and spin diffusion length, thereby advancing conjugated polymers for applications in logic, memory, sensing, and wearable systems.
Authors
- Yunlong Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1602-769X)
- Han Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2371-6426)
- Zhihao Shao
- Ming‐Liang Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5308-4672)
- Xueli Yang
- Ankang Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4826-7225)
- Xueyang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6233-9056)
- Xiangnan Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5461-9699)
- Zebin Ren
- Zihan Xiong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4166-491X)
- Jichen Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1512-4711)
- Yifan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7790-4524)
- Jie Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7472-1897)
- Zhiyuan Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3597-226X)
- Yanyan Cao
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (CN)
- National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (CN)
- Institute of Chemistry (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2025-11-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202520194
- Primary Topic
- Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility