High charge carrier mobility in conjugated organometallic polymer networks

The improvement of charge transport in conjugated polymers is a focal point of current research. It is shown here that the carrier mobility can be substantially increased through the introduction of conjugated cross-links between the conjugated chains. Novel organometallic polymer networks based on a poly(p-phenylene ethynylene) (PPE) derivative and Pt0 were synthesized by ligand-exchange reactions between the linear PPE and a low-molecular Pt complex. Time-of-flight measurements revealed ambipolar charge carrier mobilities of up to 1.6 x 10-2 cm2 V-1 s-1 for these materials, which are an order of magnitude higher than those of the neat polymer and represent the highest mobilities yet observed in disordered conjugated polymers.