Recent developments in indacenodithiophene and indacenodithienothiophene-based donor-acceptor conjugated polymers: From design to device performance in organic electronics

Polymeric semiconductors based on donor-acceptor (D-A) conjugated polymers have emerged as a promising class of materials for various applications due to their excellent solution processability, low cost, and intrinsic flexibility. The use of the indacenodithiophene (IDT) unit as a building block has received significant attention due to its unique pentacyclic ring structure and exceptional photophysical and electronic properties. This review focuses on the latest progress in the field of IDT-based polymers. We discuss the versatility of IDT as a structural molecular engineering tool, along with the use of various electron-deficient acceptors as comonomers and modifications to the IDT structure unit. These advancements have led to improved device performance, particularly in organic electronics applications such as photodetectors, solar cells, field-effect transistors, and thermoelectric devices. In summary, this review serves as a valuable reference for researchers who are interested in creating high-performance polymeric semiconductors using the IDT building block for a range of optoelectronic devices.