Physically Cross-Linked Homopolymer Ion Gels for High Performance Electrolyte-Gated Transistors

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 9; no. 10; pp. 8813 - 8818
• Main Authors: Yang, Hae Min, Kwon, Yeong Kwan, Lee, Soo Byoung, Kim, Sangwon, Hong, Kihyon, Lee, Keun Hyung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 15.03.2017
• Subjects: homopolymer ion gel; electrolyte-gated transistor; solid electrolyte; physically cross-linked gel; gate dielectric
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b12283

A new type of physically cross-linked solid polymer electrolyte was demonstrated by using a poly­(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) homopolymer in a room-temperature ionic liquid. The physical origins of gelation, specific capacitance, ionic conductivity, mechanical property, and capacitive charge modulation in organic thin-film electrochemical transistors were investigated systematically. Gelation occurs through bridging phase-separated homopolymer crystals by polymer chains in the composite electrolyte, thereby forming a rubbery network. The resulting homopolymer ion gels are able to accommodate both outstanding electrical (ionically conductive and capacitive) and mechanical (flexible and free-standing) characteristics of the component ionic liquid and the structuring polymer, respectively. These ion gels were successfully applied to organic thin-film transistors as high-capacitance gate dielectrics. Therefore, these results provide an effective route to generate a highly conductive rubbery polymer electrolyte that can be used in widespread electronic and electrochemical devices.