lain McCulloch is the Director of the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment and a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University. He previously held joint appointments as Professor of Chemical Science at KAUST, the Director of the KAUST Solar Center, and Chair in Polymer Materials in the Chemistry Department at Imperial College.

This presentation will discuss current understanding of the molecular design features responsible for optimizing charge transport in organic semiconducting polymers. Organic semiconducting polymers have been shown to be promising candidates to enable high charge carrier mobility in organic thin film transistors, which can find use in flexible displays and other electronic applications. We will take a close look at the molecular features responsible for the high charge carrier mobility of the indacenodithiophene-co-benzothiadiazole copolymer, a benchmark semiconducting polymer employed in organic transistors. 

This will involve highlighting the influence of conformational coplanarity and side-chain assisted self-assembly to create efficient one-dimensional transport along conjugated polymer backbones, with sterically free "crossing points" allowing interchain hopping. Understanding the impact of both the organic semiconducting polymer design and processing conditions, on both molecular conformation and thin film microstructure has been demonstrated to be essential in achieving the optimal transport properties.