Porous Field-Effect Transistors Based on a Semiconductive Metal-Organic Framework

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Electronics

Background:

• Conductive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) show promise for electronic device applications.
• Developing high-quality, free-standing MOF membranes is crucial for device fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate field-effect transistors (FETs) using a crystalline microporous MOF channel layer for the first time.
• To investigate the electronic properties and performance of these novel MOF-based FETs.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of a high-quality, free-standing conductive MOF membrane via an air-liquid interfacial growth method.
• Fabrication of FETs utilizing the MOF membrane as the active channel layer.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of porous FETs with a crystalline microporous MOF channel.
• The MOF FETs exhibited p-type semiconductor behavior.
• Distinguishable on/off ratios and excellent field-effect hole mobilities up to 48.6 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ were achieved.

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrates the feasibility of using conductive MOF membranes in FETs.
• The achieved device performance is comparable to state-of-the-art solution-processed organic and inorganic FETs.
• This work opens new avenues for MOFs in advanced electronic applications.