N-type doping of organic semiconductors based on air stable photocatalyst

N-type doping for organic semiconductors is challenging due to the poor stability of the doped organic semiconductor and low doping efficiency. Successful n-type doping examples with good doping efficiency and high conductivity are very limited. Here we introduce a new concept, photoredox catalyst-based n-typed doping, where the photoredox catalyst – when excited by the light – can be used to generate oxidants, or reductants to achieve either p-type doping or n-type doping. We will present our research on photocatalyst-based n-type doping of various conjugated organic semiconductors. A range of polymers, featuring diverse side chains and backbones, were investigated. Successful n-type doping was achieved, demonstrating that different energy level alignments can significantly influence photocatalyst-driven doping results. Additionally, ion exchange was found to have a substantial impact on the efficiency of photocatalyst based n-type doping.