Microscopic properties of ionic liquid/organic semiconductor interfaces revealed by molecular dynamics simulations†
Yasuyuki Yokota,Hiroo Miyamoto,Akihito Imanishi,Kouji Inagaki,Ken-ichi Fukui
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics Pub Date : 04/25/2018 00:00:00 , DOI:10.1039/C8CP01043A
Abstract

Electric double-layer transistors based on ionic liquid/organic semiconductor interfaces have been extensively studied during the past decade because of their high carrier densities at low operation voltages. Microscopic structures and the dynamics of ionic liquids likely determine the device performance; however, knowledge of these is limited by a lack of appropriate experimental tools. In this study, we investigated ionic liquid/organic semiconductor interfaces using molecular dynamics to reveal the microscopic properties of ionic liquids. The organic semiconductors include pentacene, rubrene, fullerene, and 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ). While ionic liquids close to the substrate always form the specific layered structures, the surface properties of organic semiconductors drastically alter the ionic dynamics. Ionic liquids at the fullerene interface behave as a two-dimensional ionic crystal because of the energy gain derived from the favorable electrostatic interaction on the corrugated periodic substrate.

Graphical abstract: Microscopic properties of ionic liquid/organic semiconductor interfaces revealed by molecular dynamics simulations