Presentation description

As the climate crisis continues, there is an increased demand for effective biodegradable materials for more sustainable production of energy storage devices. A class of semiconductor polymers, organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs), are promising materials for energy storage devices because of their ability to transport both ions and electrons. Although these materials are promising, many obstacles exist that prevent the commercialization of OMIECs as energy storage materials. A barrier to the development of OMIEC energy storage devices is limited knowledge of polymer morphology, particularly crystallinity. Optimizing the balance between crystalline (ordered) and amorphous (disordered) regions is essential to create devices with desirable characteristics including high capacitance, stable operation, and easy integration with electronics. Here, we demonstrate the ability to tune the crystallinity of a carboxyl-alkyl functionalized polymer, poly[3-(4-carboxybutyl)thiophene-2,5-diyl], by utilizing solvent engineering, interrogating ion injection via in situ methods, and building a prototype organic electrochemical transistor.