Control of Polar/Antipolar Layered Organic Semiconductors by the Odd-Even Effect of Alkyl Chain

Some rodlike organic molecules exhibit exceptionally high layered crystallinity when composed of a link between pi-conjugated backbone (head) and alkyl chain (tail). These molecules are aligned side-by-side unidirectionally to form self-organized polar monomolecular layers, providing promising 2D materials and devices. However, their interlayer stacking arrangements have never been tunable, preventing the unidirectional arrangements of molecules in whole crystals. Here, it is demonstrated that polar/antipolar interlayer stacking can be systematically controlled by the alkyl carbon number n, when the molecules are designed to involve effectively weakened head-to-head affinity. They exhibit remarkable odd-even effect in the interlayer stacking: alternating head-to-head and tail-to-tail (antipolar) arrangement in odd-n crystals, and uniform head-to-tail (polar) arrangement in even-n crystals. The films show excellent field-effect transistor characteristics presenting unique polar/antipolar dependence and considerably improved subthreshold swing in the polar films. Additionally, the polar films present enhanced second-order nonlinear optical response along normal to the film plane. These findings are key for creating polarity-controlled optoelectronic materials and devices. Control of polar/antipolar molecular arrangements is demonstrated by newly designed rod-like organic semiconductor molecules that take advantage of the odd-even nature of alkyl chain length. The materials enable the fabrication of highly homogeneous polar/antipolar single-crystal thin films through a straightforward solution process. The films exhibit strong second-order nonlinear optical response and excellent field-effect transistor characteristics, demonstrating a unique odd-even dependence.image