Development of High-Performing Semiconducting Polymers for Transistors and Solar Cells (Printed Electronics Europe 2015)

The evolution of organic electronics is now poised to enter the commercial phase, with the recent market introduction of the first prototypes based on organic transistors fabricated from solution. Polymeric semiconductors offer an attractive combination in terms of appropriate solution rheology for printing processes, mechanical flexibility for rollable processing and applications, but their optical and electrical performance requires further improvement in order to fulfil their potential. This presentation will discuss design and performance of state-of-the-art semiconducting polymers, address important structure-property relationships in polymer design and illustrate the improvements this has afforded for both organic field-effect transistors and organic solar cells.

Christian Nielsen received his PhD in 2004 from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. He then spent two years in the group of Professor John Reynolds at the University of Florida working on electrochromic materials and subsequently two and a half years as a research scientist at Cambridge Display Technology before moving to Imperial College London in 2010. Christian's current research is focused on the design and synthesis of novel electron-poor and electron-rich pi-conjugated materials aimed at the continued development of organic electronic applications such as field-effect transistors and solar cells.

Imperial College London is a world top ten university with an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial is committed to developing the next generation of researchers, scientists and academics through collaboration across disciplines. Located in the heart of London, Imperial is a multidisciplinary space for education, research, translation and commercialisation, harnessing science and innovation to tackle global challenges.