Recent Progress in Understanding and Improving Stability of Organic Transistors

Organic field-effect transistor (OFET) is a fundamental building block of flexible circuits. However, their practical application is limited by the instability during both operation and storage. This instability is the product of two primary factors: chemical degradation-where environmental factors like oxygen and water disrupt the molecular integrity of organic semiconductors (OSCs) through redox reactions-and physical degradation, which involves undesirable changes in the charge and aggregate states of OSCs. This review systematically explores these degradation mechanisms under various stressors and the corresponding stabilization strategies. We critically evaluated the advancements in both chemical approaches by suppressing redox reactions and physical approaches by stabilizing charge and aggregate states, offering a comprehensive framework for improving overall device stability. Finally, we outline future research directions such as developing collaborative stabilization strategies and rebuilding basic charge transport theories. This review aims to narrow the gap between fundamental research on OFETs and their practical applications and to promote the realization of intricate organic circuits in the near future.