Integrated System Built for Small-Molecule Semiconductors via High-Throughput Approaches

Abstract

High-throughput synthesis of solution-processable structurally variable small-molecule semiconductors is both an opportunity and a challenge. A large number of diverse molecules provide a possibility for quick material discovery and machine learning based on experimental data. However, the diversity of the molecular structure leads to the complexity of molecular properties, such as solubility, polarity, and crystallinity, which poses great challenges to solution processing and purification. Here, we first report an integrated system for the high-throughput synthesis, purification, and characterization of molecules with a large variety. Based on the principle "Like dissolves like," we combine theoretical calculations and a robotic platform to accelerate the purification of those molecules. With this platform, a material library containing 125 molecules and their optical-electronic properties was built within a timeframe of weeks. More importantly, the high repeatability of recrystallization we design is a reliable approach to further upgrading and industrial production.

Toward Self-Driven Autonomous Material and Device Acceleration Platforms (AMADAP) for Emerging Photovoltaics Technologies

“…The reactor operates automatically and can sequentially process up to 48 individual reactions . This organic semiconductor synthesis platform and the corresponding workflows were developed with the aim of gaining an understanding of the purity of organic semiconductors synthesized with MIDA-type Suzuki coupling click reactions . Efficiently and securely handling the purification workflow, including solution distribution, heating, stirring, and cooling for screening the optimal solvent composition for product recrystallization, was a major focus.…”

“…Probably the biggest challenge is the purity and electronic quality of molecules synthesized by click reactions such as the MIDA library. To clarify this question, we developed an integrated workflow, the “organic semiconductor synthesis platform”, for the synthesis of organic small molecules comprising three automatic HT processes: synthesis, purification, and characterization . As shown in Figure , the workflow was heavily focused on automated purification and characterization.…”

“… 2023 145 16517 16525 . 2 An integrated automatic system was developed for high-throughput synthesis, purification, and characterization of small conjugated molecules. A material library containing 125 new molecules with their optical-electronic properties was built in weeks.…”

“…To clarify this question, we developed an integrated workflow, the “organic semiconductor synthesis platform”, for the synthesis of organic small molecules comprising three automatic HT processes: synthesis, purification, and characterization. 2 As shown in Figure 2 , the workflow was heavily focused on automated purification and characterization. The first step involves microwave-assisted Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions with monomers from the MIDA library.…”

Optimizing Perovskite Thin‐Film Parameter Spaces with Machine Learning‐Guided Robotic Platform for High‐Performance Perovskite Solar Cells

“…An in-house characterization platform is used to carry out optical measurements, including recording the UV-vis absorption spectrum, the steady-state photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, and the time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) spectrum (Figure 1B; Figure S7, Supporting Information). [26,[39][40][41][42][43][44] Multiple positions with a regular pattern on the front and back sides of samples were characterized to evaluate film reproducibility, homogeneity, and quality. The entire streamlined fabrication process and measurement of thin films can be found in the Video S1 (Supporting Information).…”