Organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs) have lived to see great improvements in recent years. This review presents new insight into conduction mechanisms and performance characteristics, as well as opportunities for modeling properties of OTFTs. The shifted focus in research from novel chemical structures to fabrication technologies that optimize morphology and structural order is underscored by chapters on vacuum‐deposited and solution‐processed organic semiconducting films. Finally, progress in the growing field of the n‐type OTFTs is discussed in ample detail. The Figure, showing a pentacene film edge on SiO2, illustrates the morphology issue.

A systematic study on the use of 9,9-dialkylfluorene homopolymers (PFs) for large-diameter semiconducting (sc-) single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) enrichment is the focus of this report. The enrichment is based on a simple three-step extraction process: (1) dispersion of as-produced SWCNTs in a PF solution; (2) centrifugation at a low speed to separate the enriched sc-tubes; (3) filtration to collect the enriched sc-SWCNTs and remove excess polymer. The effect of the extraction conditions on the purity and yield including molecular weight and alkyl side-chain length of the polymers, SWCNT concentration, and polymer/SWCNT ratio have been examined. It was observed that PFs with alkyl chain lengths of C10, C12, C14, and C18, all have an excellent capability to enrich laser-ablation sc-SWCNTs when their molecular weight is larger than ∼10 000 Da. More detailed studies were therefore carried out with the C12 polymer, poly(9,9-di-n-dodecylfluorene), PFDD. It was found that a high polymer/SWCNT ratio leads to an enhanced yield but a reduced sc-purity. A ratio of 0.5-1.0 gives an excellent sc-purity and a yield of 5-10% in a single extraction as assessed by UV-vis-NIR absorption spectra. The yield can also be promoted by multiple extractions while maintaining high sc-purity. Mechanistic experiments involving time-lapse dispersion studies reveal that m-SWCNTs have a lower propensity to be dispersed, yielding a sc-SWCNT enriched material in the supernatant. Dispersion stability studies with partially enriched sc-SWCNT material further reveal that m-SWCNTs : PFDD complexes will re-aggregate faster than sc-SWCNTs : PFDD complexes, providing further sc-SWCNT enrichment. This result confirms that the enrichment was due to the much tighter bundles in raw materials and the more rapid bundling in dispersion of the m-SWCNTs. The sc-purity is also confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) mapping. The latter shows that the enriched sc-SWCNT sample has a narrow chirality and diameter distribution dominated by the (10,9) species with d = 1.29 nm. The enriched sc-SWCNTs allow a simple drop-casting method to form a dense nanotube network on SiO2/Si substrates, leading to thin film transistors (TFTs) with an average mobility of 27 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and an average on/off current ratio of 1.8 × 10(6) when considering all 25 devices having 25 μm channel length prepared on a single chip. The results presented herein demonstrate how an easily scalable technique provides large-diameter sc-SWCNTs with high purity, further enabling the best TFT performance reported to date for conjugated polymer enriched sc-SWCNTs.

N , N ′ -dioctyl-3,4,9,10-perylene tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI-C8H) thin films have been implemented into organic thin-film field-effect transistors. Mobilities up to 0.6 cm2 V−1 s−1 and current on/off ratios >105 were obtained. Linear regime mobilities were typically half of those measured in the saturation regime. X-ray studies in reflection mode suggest a spacing of ∼20 Å for thin evaporated films of PTCDI-C8H, which is consistent with the value of ∼21±2 Å obtained from our simulations when an interdigitated packing structure is assumed.

OBJECTIVE: To examine skeletal muscle intracellular triglyceride concentration in different fiber types in relation to obesity. DESIGN: Skeletal muscle fiber type distribution and intracellular lipid content were measured in vastus lateralis samples obtained by needle biopsy from lean and obese individuals. SUBJECTS: Seven lean controls (body mass index (BMI) 23.0 AE 3.3 kg=m 2 ; mean AE s.d.) and 14 obese (BMI 33.7 AE 2.7 kg=m 2 ) individuals; both groups included comparable proportions of men and women. MEASUREMENTS: Samples were histochemically stained for the identification of muscle fiber types (myosin ATPase) and intracellular lipid aggregates (oil red O dye). The number and size of fat aggregates as well as their concentration within type I, IIA and IIB muscle fiber types were measured. The cellular distribution of the lipid aggregates was also examined. RESULTS: The size of fat aggregates was not affected by obesity but the number of lipid droplets within muscle fibers was twice as abundant in obese compared to lean individuals. This was seen in type I (298 AE 135 vs 129 AE 75; obese vs lean, P < 0.05), IIA (132 AE 67 vs 79 AE 29; P < 0.05), and IIB (103 AE 63 vs 51 AE 13; P < 0.05) muscle fibers. A more central distribution of lipid droplets was observed in muscle fibers of obese compared to lean subjects (27.2 AE 5.7 vs 19.7 AE 6.4%; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The higher number of lipid aggregates and the disposition to a greater central distribution in all fiber types in obesity indicate important changes in lipid metabolism and=or storage that are fiber type-independent.

Crystals of several new hybrid tin(II) iodide-based perovskites, involving 2,3,4,5,6- pentafluorophenethylammonium or phenethylammonium cation bilayers and intercalated aryl or perfluoroaryl molecules, were grown by slow evaporation of a methanol solution containing the hybrid perovskite and the intercalating species. The (C(6)F(5)C(2)H(4)NH(3))(2)SnI(4).(C(6)H(6)) structure was solved at -75 degrees C in a monoclinic C2/c subcell [a = 41.089(12) A, b = 6.134(2) A, c = 12.245(3) A, beta = 94.021(5) degrees, Z = 4] and consists of sheets of corner-sharing distorted SnI(6) octahedra separated by bilayers of pentafluorophenethylammonium cations. The intercalated benzene molecules form a single well-ordered layer interposed between adjacent fluoroaryl cation layers. The corresponding hybrid with an unfluorinated organic cation and fluorinated intercalating molecule, (C(6)H(5)C(2)H(4)NH(3))(2)SnI(4).(C(6)F(6)), is isostructural [a = 40.685(4) A, b = 6.0804(6) A, c = 12.163(1) A, beta = 93.136(2) degrees, Z = 4]. For each intercalated system, close C...C contacts (3.44-3.50 A) between the aromatic cation and the intercalated molecule are indicative of a significant face-to-face interaction, similar to that found in the complex C(6)H(6).C(6)F(6). Crystal growth runs with the organic cation and prospective intercalating molecule either both fluorinated or both unfluorinated did not yield stable intercalated compounds, demonstrating the significance of fluoroaryl-aryl interactions in the current intercalated structures. Thermal analysis of (C(6)F(5)C(2)H(4)NH(3))(2)SnI(4).(C(6)H(6)) and (C(6)H(5)C(2)H(4)NH(3))(2)SnI(4).(C(6)F(6)) crystals yields, in addition to the characteristic transitions of the parent perovskite, endothermic transitions [12.6(5) and 32.1(8) kJ/mol, respectively] with an onset at 145 degrees C and a weight loss corresponding to the complete loss of the intercalated molecule. The relatively high deintercalation temperature (well above the boiling point of benzene and hexafluorobenzene) demonstrates the usefulness of the hybrid perovskites in providing a stable framework for the examination of the fluoroaryl-aryl interaction, as well as the potential importance of this interaction in tailoring new hybrid perovskites. UV-vis absorption measurements on (C(6)H(5)C(2)H(4)NH(3))(2)SnI(4).(C(6)F(6)) thin films indicate a small reversible wavelength shift to higher energy for the tin(II) iodide framework exciton peak (with respect to that of the parent perovskite spectrum), from 608(2) nm [2.04 eV] to 595(2) nm [2.08 eV], and a corresponding shift in the band edge position. This spectral shift can most reasonably be attributed to subtle structural changes induced in the tin(II) iodide sheets by the intercalated hexafluorobenzene molecules.