High-Resolution Photopatterning of Surface-Energy-Tunable Fluorinated Polymers as Versatile Templates for Solution-Processed Organic Electronics.

Zhang, Xiaohang; Ge, Hongwei; Wang, Mengwei; Cui, Cancan; Xiao, Meina; Li, Xiaomeng; Liu, Chuan; Minari, Takeo et al. · Nano Lett · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Programmable surface-energy templates enable controlled crystallization of solution-processed organic semiconductors. We present a photo-cross-linkable fluorinated copolymer that combines fluoroalkyl acrylates and triazine cross-link nodes to deliver digitally patternable, solvent-resistant films with tunable surface energy (14.4-24.3 mN m<sup>-1</sup>), optical transparency (>93%), and thermal stability (>200 °C). UV photopatterning yields microchannel templates with 2 μm resolution. Within these channels, 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-<i>b</i>][1]benzothiophene (C8-BTBT) crystallizes into continuous, highly oriented ribbons; a capillary-flow model predicts a critical hydrophilic width of ∼4 μm, consistent with experiments that realize uniform films at 5 μm. The resulting organic thin-film transistors show a maximum hole mobility of 8.61 cm<sup>2</sup> V<sup>-1</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> and on/off ∼10<sup>8</sup> with excellent device-to-device uniformity and ambient stability. Extending the strategy to a C8-BTBT:TIPS-pentacene blend enables monolithic arrays that exhibit a wavelength-selective photoresponse across 400-650 nm and retinal-like pattern recognition. The approach provides a general route to high-density, solution-processed nanoelectronics.