Role of Disorder Induced by Doping on the Thermoelectric Properties of Semiconducting Polymers

Abstract

A fundamental understanding of charge transport in polymeric semiconductors requires knowledge of how the electrical conductivity varies with carrier density. The thermopower of semiconducting polymers is also a complex function of carrier density making it difficult to assess structure–property relationships for the thermoelectric power factor. We examined the thermoelectric properties of poly[2,5-bis(3-tetradecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene] (pBTTT-C14) by measurements of an electrochemical transistor using a polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) gate dielectric that can modulate the carrier concentration from 4 × 1018 to 3 × 1020 cm–3. As carrier density increases, so does the concentration of associated counterions, leading to a greater degree of energetic disorder within the semiconductor. Using thermopower measurements, we show experimentally that the electronic density-of-states broadens with increasing carrier density in the semiconducting polymer. The origin of a commonly observed power law relationship between thermopower and electrical conductivity is discussed and related to the changes in the electronic density-of-states upon doping.