Conjugated organic polymers can be made conductive through charge introduction (doping), enabling flexible organic electronics. A special class of conducting polymers is organic mixed ion–electron conductors (OMIECs), which combine electronic conductivity with the ability to support ionic conduction.
OMIECs are finding applications in advanced circuitry that is mimicking how the brain works, owing to their biocompatibility and similar working principles, but many of the mechanisms underlying their function are currently unknown.
This is especially true for BBL, a ladder-type n-type polymer exhibiting anti-ambipolar behavior, in which charge injection initially increases conductivity, followed by a decrease at higher charge densities.
Since the characteristics of materials such as BBL change drastically while under operation, it is imperative to measure these materials under working conditions (in-operando).
Thereby, the Action "In-Operando characterizatioN of anti-ambipolar mIxed Conductors" is aimed at:
1) unravelling the ion-polymer interactions governing the anti-ambipolar behavior of BBL through novel advanced in-operando characterization,
2) describing the influence of typical polymer parameters (e.g. polymer length, polydispersity) on this behavior, and
3) generalizing the identified mechanisms to other ladder-type polymers.
The results of this project will provide a mechanistic framework for these materials and thereby guide the research and development of n-type ladder-type OMIECs.
