Influence of stabilizers in ZnO nano-dispersions on the performance of solution-processed FETs

Solution‐processed field‐effect transistors (FETs) based on inorganic nano‐materials are attractive system for applications in the field of printable electronics. Stabilized suspensions made of zinc oxide nano‐particles were used to fabricate FETs by spin coating. The performance of such devices is strongly affected by the nature and concentration of the compounds added to stabilize the nano‐dispersions. In this work we compare the field‐effect mobility of zinc oxide transistors when the nano‐particle dispersion is prepared using two different types of commercially available stabilizers. For the stabilizer TEGO Dispers 752 W we observed an increase in the field‐effect mobility by more than one order of magnitude. In contrast, for TEGO Dispers 750 W where a decrease in the field‐effect mobility of more than two orders of magnitude was observed. This stark difference is attributed to be due to the electrical conductivity of the stabilizers, the morphology and interface roughness and the stabilizer particle interaction.