A comparative study on binary polymer blends comprising rigid planar low-bandgap semiconductor and flexible coil-type insulator

A polymer blend is an essential member of a class of materials analogous to metal alloys, in which two polymers are blended together to create a noble material with different physical properties. Not only the physicochemical properties of each polymer but also their relative interaction and miscibility are a key to eliciting novel materials properties. Here, we investigated the effects of blending a flexible coil-type insulating polymer on the charge transport characteristics of rigid planar semiconducting polymers. To this end, we systematically controlled the blending ratio of the commercial insulating polymer, polystyrene, and one of two different diketopyrrolopyrrole-based donor-acceptor alternating copolymers, and characterized the electrical, microstructural, and morphological properties of the semiconductor–insulator polymer blend films. We found that the electrical properties of the films are strongly correlated with the polymer blend ratio and the resulting films’ vertical segregation and crystalline structures and that hole transport and electron transport alter differently with the polymer backbone structure and blend ratio. These results are expected to be greatly helpful in optimizing the semiconductor–insulator polymer ink formulations for potential use in printed electronics.