Influence of nickel(II) oxide nanoparticle addition on the performance of organic field effect transistors

Here, the improved performance of organic field effect transistors (OFET) by doping inorganic nanoparticles into a semiconducting polymer as a channel layer is briefly reported. Nickel(II) oxide nanoparticle (NiOnp) was used as an inorganic dopant while regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was used as a matrix polymer for the channel layer in the OFETs. The doping ratio of NiOnp was made 1 wt.% so that it would minimally influence the nanostructure of the P3HT channel layer. The results showed that the optical absorption spectrum of the P3HT film was slightly red-shifted by the NiOnp doping, which reflects the improved crystallinity of the P3HT domains in the P3HT:NiOnp films. The drain current of the OFETs with the P3HT:NiOnp films was significantly enhanced ca. three-to-seven fold by the NiOnp doping under appying gate voltages while the hole mobility of the OFETs P3HT:NiOnp films was improved as much as three fold by the NiOnp doping. The enhanced performance has been assigned to the role of NiOnp that has relatively higher hole mobility than the P3HT polymer.