Solution-Shearing Ordered Semiconducting Nanofibrous Blend Films for Fully Stretchable Thin-Film Transistors

Abstract High-mobility stretchable organic semiconducting materials are the core components of stretchable organic thin-film transistors, which have wide applications in wearable devices and electronic skin. It is a challenge for organic semiconducting materials to achieve both high mobility and mechanical stretchability. Here, high-mobility stretchable organic semiconducting thin films were prepared by a solution-shearing method for the active layer of fully stretchable organic transistors. Organic semiconducting nanofilms retain their fibrous morphology and achieve morphological ordering, resulting in high mobility. Nanofilms can improve mechanical stretchability by introducing the nanoconfinement effect through phase separation. Compared with the spin-coated blend films, the mobility of the solution-shearing nanofilms is increased. The fully stretchable transistors with blended semiconducting nanofilms possess a mobility of 0.58 cm2/(V s) at 100% strain. The fabricated OTFTs exhibited excellent cyclic mechanical stability, retaining hole mobilities of 0.46 cm2/(V s) (parallel to the channel-length direction) after 1,000 stretching-releasing cycles at 25% strain, supporting their potential for wearable electronics and electronic skin.