Side Chain Regulated Molecular Packing of Quinoidal Conjugated Polymers Toward High‐Performance and Stable Organic Electrochemical Transistors

ABSTRACT Conjugated polymer‐based organic mixed ionic–electronic conductors (OMIECs) are promising for organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). However, the structure‐property relationships of quinoidal conjugated polymers remain underexplored. Herein, we report four donor‐acceptor conjugated polymers featuring a quinoidal backbone comprising thienoisoindigo (TIIG) and bithiophene (BT) units, each bearing tailored side chains. The pronounced quinoidal character, reinforced by an intramolecular O···S conformational lock, affords a rigid planar backbone enabling efficient intrachain charge delocalization. Replacing the methoxy side chains on the BT unit with longer, polar oligo ethylene glycol chains stabilizes the positively charged backbone, attenuates electrostatic interactions between anions and the polymer matrix, disrupts lamellar packing, while strengthening π‐π stacking. These synergistic electronic and morphological modulations yield a large volumetric capacitance, superior cyclic operation stability, and enhanced charge mobility. Notably, OECT fabricated with PTIIG‐BT polymer featuring optimized diethylene glycol chains exhibits a remarkable figure of merit (µC*, defined as the product of charge mobility and volumetric capacitance) of 173.1 F cm − 1 V − 1 s − 1 —among the highest values for isoindigo‐based OMIECs—coupled with exceptional sensitivity in Na + and K + detection. The elucidated structure‐morphology‐performance correlations provide critical guidances for the rational design of high‐performance quinoidal polymer‐based OMIECs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-08-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.77704
Primary Topic
Conducting polymers and applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Side Chain Regulated Molecular Packing of Quinoidal Conjugated Polymers Toward High‐Performance and Stable Organic Electrochemical Transistors

Zicheng Ding, Lihan Zhu, Pengcheng Li, Jian Liu et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Conducting polymers and applications
article

Side Chain Regulated Molecular Packing of Quinoidal Conjugated Polymers Toward High‐Performance and Stable Organic Electrochemical Transistors

Zicheng Ding, Lihan Zhu, Pengcheng Li, Jian Liu, Jianhao Zhu, Yulin Han, Linlong Zhang, Hui Li, Jianfeng Li, Xingxing Chen, Yu Chen
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Conjugated polymer‐based organic mixed ionic–electronic conductors (OMIECs) are promising for organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). However, the structure‐property relationships of quinoidal conjugated polymers remain underexplored. Herein, we report four donor‐acceptor conjugated polymers featuring a quinoidal backbone comprising thienoisoindigo (TIIG) and bithiophene (BT) units, each bearing tailored side chains. The pronounced quinoidal character, reinforced by an intramolecular O···S conformational lock, affords a rigid planar backbone enabling efficient intrachain charge delocalization. Replacing the methoxy side chains on the BT unit with longer, polar oligo ethylene glycol chains stabilizes the positively charged backbone, attenuates electrostatic interactions between anions and the polymer matrix, disrupts lamellar packing, while strengthening π‐π stacking. These synergistic electronic and morphological modulations yield a large volumetric capacitance, superior cyclic operation stability, and enhanced charge mobility. Notably, OECT fabricated with PTIIG‐BT polymer featuring optimized diethylene glycol chains exhibits a remarkable figure of merit (µC*, defined as the product of charge mobility and volumetric capacitance) of 173.1 F cm − 1 V − 1 s − 1 —among the highest values for isoindigo‐based OMIECs—coupled with exceptional sensitivity in Na + and K + detection. The elucidated structure‐morphology‐performance correlations provide critical guidances for the rational design of high‐performance quinoidal polymer‐based OMIECs.

Advanced Functional Materials
Anhui University (CN), Northeast Normal University (CN), Institute of High Energy Physics (CN), State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry (CN), Shaanxi Normal University (CN), Wuhan Institute of Technology (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Openalex Percentile: Top 20%
Conducting polymers and applications
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