Developing suitable polymer semiconductors for the application in bioFETs

PhD ceremony: Mr. F. Brouwer, 16.15 uur, Aula Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Developing suitable polymer semiconductors for the application in bioFETs

Promotor(s): prof. J.C. Hummelen

Faculty: Mathematics and Natural Sciences

With a fast growing population in developing countries, the lack of money for medical care, diseases are spreading rapidly. The need for a quick, accurate, and cheap method for the detection of these diseases is high. The current technology based on silicon is just too expensive and new materials need to be developed. Polymers are an example of such materials. In my thesis I describe the development of new conjugated polymers for the use in biosensor applications. To obtain materials with a high mobility, polymers with a high molecular weight and a regular structure are required. In the first part of my thesis I describe the multi-step synthesis of several monomers. By optimizing and modifying existing synthesis routes I was able to synthesize (functionalized) bithiophene monomers on a large scale. In the second part of my thesis I describe the polymerization of these monomers. During my research I found out that traditional polymerization methods, like the Stille or Suzuki polymerization, do not result in the polymers with the required structure and purity. After detailed analysis of the materials by MALDI-TOF MS a new polymerization method was developed. By using bis(pinacolato)diboron (BiPi), in-situ functionalization and polymerization of symmetrical bisbromo macromonomers became possible. The resulting polymers have a more regular structure and contain fewer impurities compared to the polymers made using traditional polymerization methods. The new BiPi method is very mild and can be used for the polymerization of a wide variety of monomers, making the BiPi method a very useful tool for other scientists.