Pentacene, p-type semiconductor in OFETs

Paired with C60 to be used in devices for LED applications

Pentacene, an acene with flat-like molecules made of five linearly-fused benzene rings, has been extensively studied as a p-type semiconductor in organic field-effect transistors. It is known to exhibit large carrier mobilities of about 1 cm² /V s within the plane parallel to the substrate.

Due to its large carrier mobilities, pentacene has also been used with in heterojunction solar cells with a power conversion efficiency over 2.7% [1, 2, 4, 5] and made into devices for light-emitting diode applications [3, 6]

General Information

CAS number	135-48-8
Chemical formula	C₂₂H₁₄
Molecular weight	278.35 g/mol
Absorption*	λ_max = 576 nm (in benzene) [11]
Fluorescence	λ_em = 578 nm (in benzene)
HOMO/LUMO	HOMO -4.9 eV, LUMO -3.0 eV
Synonyms	Benzo[b]naphthacene 2,3:6,7-Dibenzanthracene
Classification / Family	Acene derivatives, Hole-injection layer materials, Hole transport layer materials, Phosphorescent host materials, Photovoltaic materials, Sublimed materials, Light-emitting diodes, Light emitting field-effect transistors (LEFETs), OFETs, OPVs, Organic electronics

* Measurable with an , see our .

Product Details

Purity	>99% (sublimed)
Melting point	372-374 °C (subl.)
Colour	purple-black crystals/powder
Solvents	Pentacene is insoluble in most of the organic solvents. Trichlorobenzene is normally used to form solution at 60 - 120 °C [10]

* Sublimation is a technique used to obtain ultra pure-grade chemicals, see .

Chemical Structure

Chemical Structure of Pentacene

Device Structure(s)

Device structure	ITO/Pentacene (45 nm)/C60 (50 nm)/BCP (10 nm)/Al [1]
Jsc (mA cm^-2)	15±3
Voc (V)	0.363±0.03
FF (%)	50±1
PCE (%)	2.7±0.4

Device structure	ITO/pentacene:CuPc (4:96 wt%, 20 nm)/C60 (60 nm)/BCP (8 nm)/Al (80 nm) [2]
Jsc (mA cm^-2)	12.93
Voc (V)	0.52
FF (%)	46
PCE (%)	3.06

Device structure	ITO/PEDOT:PSS/pentacene (10 nm)/Alq3 (30 nm)/Al [3]
Colour	Green
Max. EQE	n/a
Max. Current Efficiency	8.2 cd/A

MSDS Documentation

Literature and Reviews

Efficient thin-film organic solar cells based on pentacene/C60 heterojunctions, S. Yoo et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 5427 (2004); doi: 10.1063/1.1829777.
Improving efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells with pentacene-doped CuPc layer, W.-B. Chen et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 191109 (2007);
Improved performance of organic light emitting diodes by pentacene as hole transporting layer, F. Zhang et al., Appl. Surf. Sci., 255, 1942–1945 (2008), doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2008.06.166.

Efficient organic photovoltaic diodes based on doped pentacene, J. H. Schön et al., Nature 403, 408-410 (2000). doi:10.1038/35000172.
External Quantum Efficiency Above 100% in a Singlet-Exciton-Fission–Based Organic Photovoltaic Cell, D. N. Congreve et al., Science 340 (6130) 334-337 (2013). DOI: 10.1126/science.1232994.
A pentacene-doped hole injection layer for organic light-emitting diodes, S. Shi et al., Semicond. Sci. Technol. 20, 1213-1216 (2005).
Light emitting field-effect transistors with vertical heterojunctions based on pentacene and tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum, S. Cui et al., Org. Electronics, 22, 51-55 (2015). doi:10.1016/j.orgel.2015.03.029.
Ambipolar pentacene/C60-based field-effect transistors with high hole and electron mobilities in ambient atmosphere, H. Yan et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 023305 (2009);
Low-Voltage, High-Mobility Pentacene Transistors with Solution-Processed High Dielectric Constant Insulators, C. D. Dimitrakopoulos et al., Adv. Mater., 11 (16), 1372-1375 (1999). DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1521-4095(199911)11:16<1372::AID-ADMA1372>3.0.CO;2-V.
Direct Formation of Pentacene Thin Films by Solution Process, T. Minakata et al., Synth. Metals 153, 1–4 (2005).doi:10.1016/j.synthmet.2005.07.210.
Electronic Absorption and Fluorescence of Phenylethynyl- Substituted Acenes, D. R. Maulding et al., J. Org. Chem., 34 (6), 1734–1736 (1969);DOI: 10.1021/jo01258a045.