The Impact of Interlayer Electronic Coupling on Charge Transport in Organic Semiconductors: A Case Study on Titanylphthalocyanine Single Crystals

Abstract Traditionally, it is believed that three‐dimensional transport networks are preferable to those of lower dimensions. We demonstrate that inter‐layer electronic couplings may result in a drastic decrease of charge mobilities by utilizing field‐effect transistors (FET) based on two phases of titanyl phthalocyanine (TiOPc) crystals. The α‐phase crystals with electronic couplings along two dimensions show a maximum mobility up to 26.8 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . In sharp contrast, the β‐phase crystals with extra significant inter‐layer electronic couplings show a maximum mobility of only 0.1 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . Theoretical calculations on the bulk crystals and model slabs reveal that the inter‐layer electronic couplings for the β‐phase devices will diminish remarkably the device charge transport abilities owing to the coupling direction perpendicular to the current direction. This work provides new insights into the impact of the dimensionality and directionality of the packing arrangements on charge transport in organic semiconductors.