Quantitative Prediction of the Electro-Mechanical Response in Organic Crystals



Landi, Alessandro, Peluso, Andrea and Troisi, Alessandro ORCID: 0000-0002-5447-5648
(2021) Quantitative Prediction of the Electro-Mechanical Response in Organic Crystals. Advanced Materials, 33 (12). e2008049-.

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Abstract

Organic semiconductors' inherent flexibility makes them appealing for advanced applications such as wearable electronics, e-skins, or pressure sensors, and can even be used to enhance their intrinsic electronic properties. Unfortunately, these applications for organic materials are currently hindered by the lack of a quantitative understanding of the interplay between their electrical and mechanical properties. In this work, this gap is filled by presenting an accurate methodology able to predict quantitatively the effects of external deformation on the charge transport properties of any organic semiconductors. Three prototypical materials are investigated, showing that the experimental variation of charge carrier mobility with strain is fully reproduced, even in a wide range of deformations applied along different crystal axes. The results indicate that the intrinsic electro-mechanical response of the materials varies by orders of magnitude within the class of organic semiconductors, a difference rationalized observing that the mobility trend is primarily influenced by the transfer integrals' variation, rather than by a modification of the crystal phonons. In light of its robustness, accuracy, and low computational cost, this protocol represents an ideal tool to quantify the electro-mechanical response in new organic compounds, thus establishing a reliable route for a full exploitation of strain engineering in advanced technologies.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: charge mobility, electro&#8208, mechanical properties, flexible electronics, strain
Divisions: Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Physical Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 23 Mar 2021 08:26
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 22:55
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202008049
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3118022