Strain effects on the work function of an organic semiconductor

Nature Communications
Yanfei WuC Daniel Frisbie

Abstract

Establishing fundamental relationships between strain and work function (WF) in organic semiconductors is important not only for understanding electrical properties of organic thin films, which are subject to both intrinsic and extrinsic strains, but also for developing flexible electronic devices. Here we investigate tensile and compressive strain effects on the WF of rubrene single crystals. Mechanical strain induced by thermal expansion mismatch between the substrate and rubrene is quantified by X-ray diffraction. The corresponding WF change is measured by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy. The WF of rubrene increases (decreases) significantly with in-plane tensile (compressive) strain, which agrees qualitatively with density functional theory calculations. An elastic-to-plastic transition, characterized by a steep rise of the WF, occurs at ∼0.05% tensile strain along the rubrene π-stacking direction. The results provide the first concrete link between mechanical strain and WF of an organic semiconductor and have important implications for understanding the connection between structural and electronic disorder in soft organic electronic materials.

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Citations

Oct 11, 2016·Chemical Reviews·Oksana Ostroverkhova
Sep 8, 2016·Scientific Reports·Yang LiRandall L Headrick
Jul 26, 2017·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Yaochuan MeiOana D Jurchescu
Jul 25, 2018·Advanced Materials·Xiaotao ZhangWenping Hu
Feb 14, 2019·Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP·Yen-Wei JhouJyh-Shen Tsay
Jun 1, 2018·Nature Communications·Tao HeC Daniel Frisbie
Jan 23, 2020·Advanced Materials·Guillaume SchweicherYves H Geerts
Feb 16, 2021·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Tomoya TaguchiAntonio Cassinese
Feb 19, 2021·Advanced Materials·Alessandro LandiAlessandro Troisi
Jun 18, 2021·The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters·Jan ElsnerJochen Blumberger
Dec 30, 2017·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Haiting WangYichun Liu
Aug 19, 2020·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Zhuoran ZhangC Daniel Frisbie
Mar 13, 2019·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Ainhoa AtxabalLuis E Hueso
Nov 7, 2018·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Marco J PereiraGuillaume Wantz
Jul 13, 2018·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Jae Joon KimAlejandro L Briseno
Sep 28, 2021·Angewandte Chemie·Durga Prasad KarothuPanče Naumov

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
thermal expansion
X-ray
AFM

Software Mentioned

VASP

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