Improved Field-Effect Transistor Performance of a Benzotrithiophene Polymer through Ketal Cleavage in the Solid State

A benzotrithiophene polymer with a new thermally cleavable ketal substituent is reported. It is shown how this functional group can be used to facilitate solvent processing and, subsequently, how it can be removed by a thermal annealing process to generate a structurally ordered and crystalline thin film with significantly improved field-effect transistor properties.