1. joe rumer | research overview | summer 2014
Imperial College London | University of California Santa Barbara
Organic electronics is a technology that uses semiconducting materials to create low cost,
lightweight, flexible, printed devices. Applications range from mobile phone displays to large-scale printed
photovoltaic [solar], logic and memory devices.
Driven by the potential commercialisation and positive environmental impacts of organic electronics, we design, model
and synthesise organic semiconductor materials. Fabricating devices, we then test performance and study morphology
and stability, iteratively designing new and improved materials.
Our research focuses largely on the development of stable, high performance n- and p-type organic semiconductors for
application in organic field effect transistor (OFET) and organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices. These typically comprise of
solution-processed conjugated small molecules and polymers with alkyl side-chains for solubility and chromophores to
absorb light.
Thin film organic transistor devices have now entered the commercial phase with monochrome display products, driven by
organic transistor backplanes. Higher complexity displays require both improved transistor performance and enhanced
operational lifetimes, with stability and ‘green’ chemistry being key research areas.
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research highlights
 Novel synthesis, characterisation and device performance of thiophene-flanked
benzodipyrrolidone-based polymers giving well-balanced ambipolarity and good
mobility in organic field-effect transistors
 Development of the dihydropyrroloindoledione (DPID) unit for organic semiconducting
polymers affording organic solar cells fabricated from environmentally benign solvents
 Exploring the effect of alkyl side-chain sterics by branching position and length on
solid-state morphology to extend design rules for high-performance materials
 Synthesis of new stable, readily activated small molecule cross-linking additives for
conferring thermal stability to polymeric systems
 Thermal stability in polymer/fullerene blends: inhibited crystallisation and extended
device lifetime achieved by cross-linking
research overview
joe rumer | PhD MSci (Hons) ARCS MRSC