THE SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY   

Dissertation defense 

on Tuesday, October 4th, 2022

2:00 PM

in MRDC 4211

and via

Teams Video Conferencing

Teams link to Brandon DiTullio's Defense

Brandon T. DiTullio

"SOLUTION PROCESSABLE CONJUGATED POLYMERS FOR ORGANIC ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS"

Committee Members:

Prof. John R. Reynolds, Advisor, MSE/CHEM

Prof. MG Finn, CHEM

Prof. Jennifer Curtis, PHYS

Prof. Carlos Silva, PHYS/CHEM

Dr. Patrick Kinlen, CHEM (University of Missouri)

Abstract:

Broadly, this thesis work focused on the investigation and leveraging of the way in which conjugated polymers (CPs) shuttle and interact with electrons/ions. This mixed ion and electron transport has led to their use in a wide range of semiconductor applications, including bio(electronics). In particular, the development of CP materials for organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) has been of significant contemporary interest due to their mechanical conformability, low-voltage operation, facile chemical modification, and ability to transduce cellular ion fluxes (e.g., protons, metal ions, and neurotransmitters) into exogeneous electrical signals with extremely high signal fidelity. Accordingly, this presentation will focus on the synthesis, characterization, and processing of solution processable CPs to understand the interplay between polymer chemical structure, processing, and material properties relevant to organic electronic applications. More specifically, this work outlines material design strategies for tuning electrochemical properties of polythiophene-based active materials, which are the highest performing subset of CP materials in the field, that are crucial to achieve superior performance and stability in such devices.