Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 256-264).

The present thesis is focused on the rational design of Diketopyrrolopyrrole based π- conjugated polymers for organic electronics. The thesis is organized into six different chapters and a brief description of the individual chapters is provided below. Chapter 1 briefly describes the physics governing the electronic processes occurring in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) followed by design rules for the synthesis of conjugated polymers for organic electronics. Diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) based π-conjugated materials and their development in OPVs and OFETs have been highlighted. Chapter 2 discusses the synthesis and characterization of a series of small molecules of DPP derivatives attached with different alkyl chains. Influence of side chains on the photophysical properties of these DPP derivatives have been studied by UV-visible spectroscopy and DFT calculations. Crystal structure studies revealed the effect of alkyl chains on the torsional angle, crystal packing, and intermolecular interactions such as π-π stacking. Chapter 3 reports the synthesis of novel diketopyrrolopyrrole-diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPPDPP) based conjugated copolymers and their application in high mobility organic field-effect transistors. Effect of insulating alkyl chains on polymer thin film morphology, lamellar packing and π-π stacking interactions have been studied in detail. Investigation of OFET performance of these DPP-DPP copolymers with branched alkyl chains (N-CS2DPP-ODEH) resulted in low charge carrier mobilities as compared to the polymers (N-CS2DPP-ODHE) with linear alkyl chains. Polymer with triethylene glycol side chains (N-CS2DPP-ODTEG) exhibited a high field-effect electron mobility value of ~3 cm2V-1s-1 with a very low threshold voltage of ~2 V. Chapter 4 investigates the effect of torsional angle on the intermolecular interactions and charge transport properties of diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) based polymers (PPDPP-OD-HE and PPDPP-OD-TEG). Grazing incidence x-ray diffraction studies shows the different orientation of the polymer crystallites and lamellar packing involved in polymer thin films. Investigation of OFETs evidenced the effect of torsional angle on the charge transport properties where the polymer with higher torsional angle PPDPP-OD-TEG resulted in high threshold voltage with less charge carrier mobility compared to the polymer with lower torsional angle (N-CS2DPP-OD-TEG). Chapter 5 investigates the effect of photoactive material morphology on the solar cell device performance, and charge transfer kinetics by adding high boiling point processing additives. DPP based donor-acceptor (D-A) type low band gap polymers (PTDPPQ and PPDPPQ) have been synthesized and employed in bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells with the acceptor PC71BM. Addition of processing additive 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) resulted in three order improvements in power conversion efficiency (PCE). Chapter 6 describes the design and synthesis of two diketopyrrolopyrrole based copolymers (PPDPP-BBT and PTDPP-BBT) for their application in organic devices such as field-effect transistors and bulk-heterojunction solar cells. Investigation of OFET performance of these DPP based copolymers displayed hole mobilities in the order of 10-3 cm2V-1s-1. The semiconductor-dielectric interface has been characterized by capacitance-voltage, and Raman scattering methods. In summary, the work presented in this thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of diketopyrrolopyrrole based new polymeric semiconductors. Effects of insulating side chains and torsional angle on the charge transport properties of these polymers in OFETs have been investigated. This work also describes the effect of solvent additives on the active layer morphology and BHJ solar cell device performance. The results described here show that these materials have potential application as active components in plastic electronics.