Acceptor Backbone Cationization via B ← N Functionalization Enables High‐Performance Porous n‐Type Organic Mixed Ionic‐Electronic Conductors for Biosensors

ABSTRACT The advancement of high‐performance n‐type organic mixed ionic‐electronic conductors (OMIECs) is pivotal to advancing organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) for next‐generation bioelectronics. While current design strategies predominantly center on non‐ionic conjugated polymers, their inherently hydrophobic backbones lead to suboptimal ionic transport characteristics. To address this challenge, we introduce an ionic acceptor design strategy of backbone cationization via B ← N functionalization within bipyridine and bipyrazine frameworks. Leveraging these cationic acceptors, we synthesized two n‐type ionic polymer OMIECs, PBPyBF 3 , and PBPzBF 3 , which exhibit low‐lying LUMO levels as low as −4.0 eV, elevated backbone torsional barriers, and ordered microstructures. Most critically, backbone cationization via B ← N coordination significantly enhances hydrophilicity by inducing a distinct porous film morphology, facilitated by hydrogen bonding with processing solvents. This structural evolution translates to a dramatically improved volumetric capacitance of 581 F cm −3 . Consequently, OECTs based on cationic polymer PBPzBF 3 exhibit an exceptional normalized transconductance of 38.9 S cm −1 and figure of merit of 215.9 F cm −1 V −1 s −1 , ranking among the highest values reported for n‐type OMIECs to date. Notably, electrocardiogram sensors integrated with PBPzBF 3 ‐OECTs exhibit high signal‐to‐noise ratios and superior sensitivity. This work establishes fundamental structure‐property relationships governing ion‐electron coupled transport in conjugated polymers.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-07-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.8339051
Primary Topic
Covalent Organic Framework Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Acceptor Backbone Cationization via B ← N Functionalization Enables High‐Performance Porous n‐Type Organic Mixed Ionic‐Electronic Conductors for Biosensors

Ziyi Ge, Yuqing Ding, 祁庆祥, Wei Song et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Covalent Organic Framework Applications
article

Acceptor Backbone Cationization via B ← N Functionalization Enables High‐Performance Porous n‐Type Organic Mixed Ionic‐Electronic Conductors for Biosensors

Ziyi Ge, Yuqing Ding, 祁庆祥, Wei Song, Yang Wang, Yunqi Liu, Dongsheng Yan, Z H Jiang, Z Zhao
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The advancement of high‐performance n‐type organic mixed ionic‐electronic conductors (OMIECs) is pivotal to advancing organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) for next‐generation bioelectronics. While current design strategies predominantly center on non‐ionic conjugated polymers, their inherently hydrophobic backbones lead to suboptimal ionic transport characteristics. To address this challenge, we introduce an ionic acceptor design strategy of backbone cationization via B ← N functionalization within bipyridine and bipyrazine frameworks. Leveraging these cationic acceptors, we synthesized two n‐type ionic polymer OMIECs, PBPyBF 3 , and PBPzBF 3 , which exhibit low‐lying LUMO levels as low as −4.0 eV, elevated backbone torsional barriers, and ordered microstructures. Most critically, backbone cationization via B ← N coordination significantly enhances hydrophilicity by inducing a distinct porous film morphology, facilitated by hydrogen bonding with processing solvents. This structural evolution translates to a dramatically improved volumetric capacitance of 581 F cm −3 . Consequently, OECTs based on cationic polymer PBPzBF 3 exhibit an exceptional normalized transconductance of 38.9 S cm −1 and figure of merit of 215.9 F cm −1 V −1 s −1 , ranking among the highest values reported for n‐type OMIECs to date. Notably, electrocardiogram sensors integrated with PBPzBF 3 ‐OECTs exhibit high signal‐to‐noise ratios and superior sensitivity. This work establishes fundamental structure‐property relationships governing ion‐electron coupled transport in conjugated polymers.

Angewandte Chemie
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Fudan University (CN), Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (CN), Ningbo Institute of Industrial Technology (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
Covalent Organic Framework Applications
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