Title: Revealing morphological insights on organic semiconductors using charge transport measurements

Speaker: Prof.SO Shu Kong 

Time: 10:00 AM, April 9,2026 

Venue: W301 Meeting Room, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices (North Campus)

Abstract:

The morphological analysis of the active layer stands as a critical imperative for advancing the performance of future organic solar cells or any organic electronic devices. Conventional characterization tools employed for morphological investigation often require substantial resources, both in cost and physical space, thereby imposing restraints on research endeavours in this domain. In this talk, we explore the application of charge carrier transport characterization beyond conventional mobility assessments, utilizing it as a table-top method for preliminary morphological screening in organic thin films. Examples of investigation will include some classic materials as well as on several high-performance BHJ systems that utilize well-developed “Y” non-fullerene acceptors. Temperature- and field-dependent transport characterizations have been analyzed with disorder model to extract key transport parameters, specifically the high-temperature limited mobility and positional disorder. Integrating these transport parameters with morphological insights obtained through various characterization tools including x-ray scattering, optical spectroscopies—provides connections between charge transport properties and morphological characteristics. Our findings point to the promising potential of utilizing a simple transport characterization technique for the early-stage evaluation of thin film packing and geometric properties of organic materials.

Speaker Biography:

SO Shu Kong (蘇樹江 ) obtained his bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College and PhD in Physics from Cornell University. He was a postdoc fellow in the Chemistry Department of the University of Toronto. Then he joined the Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University where is now the Head and a Professor of Physics. His research interests span the physics and chemistry of thin film materials, including charge transport, heat transfer, and defect study in organic thin films, fabrication of organic solar cells and thin film transistors. His latest interest is on understanding the origin and classification of disorders of amorphous materials. https://physics.hkbu.edu.hk/people/so-shu-kong-head

Google scholar profile: 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=4HLcuWwAAAAJ&inst=10806615469772578445