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Synthesis of a Thiol Building Block for the Crystallization of a Semiconducting Gyroidal Metal-sulfur Framework
Published on: April 9, 2018
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Ambipolar Nickel Dithiolene Complex Semiconductors: From One- to Two-Dimensional Electronic Structures Based upon
Masatoshi Ito1, Tomoko Fujino1, Lei Zhang1
1The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8581, Japan.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|December 13, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed air-stable, single-component ambipolar organic semiconductors using planar nickel bis(dithiolene) complexes. These materials exhibit excellent charge carrier mobility and stability, paving the way for advanced electronic devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Electronics
- Semiconductor Physics
Background:
- Air-stable, single-component ambipolar organic semiconductors are crucial for advanced electronics but are rarely achieved.
- Nickel bis(dithiolene) complexes offer potential due to suitable electronic properties (shallow HOMO, deep LUMO) for air stability and reduced carrier injection barriers.
- Existing ambipolar nickel bis(dithiolene) semiconductors often possess twisted structures hindering intermolecular interactions necessary for charge transport.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize novel planar alkoxy-substituted nickel bis(dithiolene) analogs as air-stable, single-component ambipolar organic semiconductors.
- To investigate the impact of alkoxy substituents on molecular packing and intermolecular interactions.
- To evaluate the performance of these materials in field-effect transistors, focusing on charge carrier mobility, on/off ratios, and air stability.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of planar alkoxy-substituted nickel bis(dithiolene) complexes.
- Crystallographic analysis to determine molecular packing modes (e.g., 1D, herringbone-like).
- Fabrication and characterization of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) using solution processing.
- Electrical performance testing under ambient air conditions.
Main Results:
- Synthesized planar nickel bis(dithiolene) analogs with varying alkoxy substituents (methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy).
- Demonstrated a tunable packing mode (1D to herringbone-like) by altering alkoxy chains, while maintaining effective intermolecular interactions.
- Achieved highly crystalline and soluble materials, enabling solution-processable semiconducting layers.
- OFET devices exhibited efficient air-stable ambipolar characteristics with high carrier mobilities (up to 10-2 cm2 V-1 s-1) and on/off ratios (up to 105).
Conclusions:
- Planar alkoxy-substituted nickel bis(dithiolene) complexes represent a breakthrough in single-component ambipolar organic semiconductor design.
- These materials overcome the trade-off between crystallinity and solubility, offering excellent processability and performance.
- The developed semiconductors demonstrate top-class air-stable ambipolar performance, suitable for practical applications in organic electronics.
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