Editorial pubs.acs.org/cm
Rationally Assembling the Pieces of π‑Conjugated Polymers for Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics Antonio FacchettiThe Newest Member of the Chemistry of Materials’ 1k Club
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s part of our 1k Club series of interviews with authors of papers cited more than 1000 times, we caught up with Antonio Facchetti (Figure 1), of Northwestern University, and
Figure 2. Scheme from ref 3, showing the breakdown of these complex materials into their individual constituents, and linking to properties.
cells). I was intrigued by the similarities of the design of the (semiconductor) materials used for both, and I wanted to learn more about the differences between the two applications. That review helped me to better understand these fields, and, I guess, it was useful to others to understand them. CM: Given the high citation record of this review, a significant amount of research has been impacted by your findings over the years. Where did you think the field was headed when you wrote this review? In your opinion, how has this particular research field evolved ever since? AF: At the time of the review, the field of organic transistors was quite mature and several key aspects on how to optimize the transistor performance were known. However, for organic solar cells, the field was still young, still at the beginning stages. Now, both fields are quite mature and a lot of research has been focused on how to translate the “fundamental discoveries” and “record device performance” into more mature technologies where real products based on organic transistors and solar cells could reach the market. Furthermore, in addition to the semiconductors (and particularly the polymeric semiconductors), several additional materials have been developed, including interlayers, contacts, dielectric, conductors, passive components, and others. Finally, inorganic materials are now being combined with organic to enable “hybrid” approaches to achieve better stability, and even greater device performances, for instance. CM: If you had to put your finger on it, what made your paper special? What are you most happy about when you reread this review? AF: I think I was learning myself about certain aspects of these fields, so it was somehow natural to try to understand
Figure 1. Latest member of our 1k Club, Antonio Facchetti.
Chief Technology Officer of Flexterra.1,2 In 2011, he published an extensive review entitled “π-Conjugated Polymers for Organic Electronics and Photovoltaic Cell Applications”, which encapsulated the recent and remarkable developments in organic electronics (Figure 2).3 This review provided not only a summary of the state-of-the-art, but it disassembled the organic materials into their essential elements and carefully considered their influence on the electronics, morphology, and nanoscale film structure, and how these characteristics affected overall device performance. As of July 9, 2017, the review has been cited 1021 times (Web of Science) and 1350 times (Google Scholar). We (CM) asked Dr. Facchetti (AF) for his thoughts and motivation at the time of writing this influential piece of work. CM: At what stage of your academic career were you when you submitted this Review to Chemistry of Materials? It is certainly rare to see single-author review paperswhat motivated you to take on this large challenge yourself? AF: I decided to write the review because at that time I was transitioning part of my research activities, particularly at my former company Polyera Corporation (now Flexterra Inc.) from working only with organic semiconductors for transistors and circuits to the area of organic photovoltaics (OPV, solar © 2017 American Chemical Society
Published: August 8, 2017 6179
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b02886 Chem. Mater. 2017, 29, 6179−6180
Chemistry of Materials
Editorial
what were the limitations by understanding key aspects. Furthermore, the field was “exploding”, so students wanted to learn and research projects were thus initiated, and so it was cited. When I write papers I am also quite picky about presentation, to make sure figures are well done and easily legible. CM: What’s your advice to young scientists trying to discover the next breakthrough in material science? AF: Three key pieces of advice, which I learned from my Ph.D. advisor, Giorgio Pagani, and my postdoctoral advisor, Tobin J. Marks: (i) Be curious. (ii) Do not only read papers in your own field, but think where you can use your expertise in solving other problems. (iii) Value collaborations and collaborators.
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Carlos Toro, Managing Editor Jillian M. Buriak, Editor-in-Chief AUTHOR INFORMATION
ORCID
Jillian M. Buriak: 0000-0002-9567-4328 Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the authors and not necessarily the views of the ACS.
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REFERENCES
(1) http://www.flexterracorp.com/index.htm. (2) http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~afa912/http://faculty. wcas.northwestern.edu/~afa912/. (3) Facchetti, A. π-Conjugated Polymers for Organic Electronics and Photovoltaic Cell Applications. Chem. Mater. 2011, 23, 733−758.
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DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b02886 Chem. Mater. 2017, 29, 6179−6180
