Large enhancement of hole injection in pentacene by modification of gold with conjugated self-assembled monolayers

Planar diodes with gold electrodes and a pentacene semiconductor layer were made and electrically characterized. The gold electrodes were modified with self-assembled monolayers of biphenylthiol and biphenylthiol substituted with a terminal fluorine atom (fluorobiphenylthiol). Atomic force microscopy of the pentacene layer reveals large morphological similarities when the film is grown on gold modified with either of the two kinds of self-assembled monolayer. This is at variance with the significant increase of the current observed when the gold electrodes are treated with fluorobiphelylthiol, with a bulk mobility rising up to 1 cm²/V s, while the treatment with biphelylthiol leads to a substantial decrease of the current. These results are interpreted in terms of adjustment of the injection barrier height as a result of the interface dipole induced by the self-assembled monolayer.