Morphology and molecular orientation of thin-film bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene

As a modification to the insoluble and herringbone-structured pentacene, bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) (TIPS) pentacene has two bulky side groups, leading to good solubility in common organic solvents and regular π–π stacking arrangements in the crystalline state. Solution processing of TIPS–pentacene thin films was investigated as a function of various process parameters in this work. Electron diffraction results suggested that TIPS–pentacene molecules tended to align with the acene unit edge on to the substrate, touching down with their bulky side groups. In a TIPS–pentacene polycrystalline film, the long axis of individual crystallite is [2 1 0], while the shorter axis is [1 ^¯₂0]. High-resolution electron microscopy was used to study the local crystal structure and characteristic defects of TIPS–pentacene thin films. Due to the nonaromatic side groups, TIPS–pentacene was found to be significantly more sensitive to the electron beam (critical dose J_c= 0.05 C/cm²at 300 kV) than pentacene itself (J_c= 0.2 C/cm²at 100 kV).