Monday, August 15, 2022
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Nanotechnology

Molecular bridges power up printed electronics

February 25, 2021
in Nanotechnology
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Graphene Flagship researchers boost the efficiency of conductive inks and devices connecting layered materials flakes with small molecules

IMAGE

Credit: University of Strasbourg

The exfoliation of graphite into graphene layers inspired the investigation of thousands of layered materials: amongst them transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). These semiconductors can be used to make conductive inks to manufacture printed electronic and optoelectronic devices. However, defects in their structure may hinder their performance. Now, Graphene Flagship researchers have overcome these hurdles by introducing ‘molecular bridges’- small molecules that interconnect the TMD flakes, thereby boosting the conductivity and overall performance.

The results, published in Nature Nanotechnology, come from a multidisciplinary collaboration between Graphene Flagship partners the University of Strasbourg and CNRS, France, AMBER and Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge, UK. The employed molecular bridges increase the carrier mobility – a physical parameter related to the electrical conductivity – tenfold.

TMD inks are used in many fields, from electronics and sensors to catalysis and biomedicine. They are usually manufactured using liquid-phase exfoliation, a technique developed by the Graphene Flagship that allows for the mass production of graphene and layered materials. But, although this technology yields high volumes of product, it has some limitations. The exfoliation process may create defects that affect the layered material’s performance, particularly when it comes to conducting electricity.

Inspired by organic electronics – the field behind successful technologies such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and low-cost solar cells – the Graphene Flagship team found a solution: molecular bridges. With these chemical structures, the researchers managed to kill two birds with one stone. First, they connected TMD flakes to one another, creating a network that facilitates the charge transport and conductivity. The molecular bridges double up as walls, healing the chemical defects at the edges of the flakes and eliminating electrical vacancies that would otherwise promote energy loss.

Furthermore, molecular bridges provide researchers with a new tool to tailor the conductivity of TMD inks on demand. If the bridge is a conjugated molecule – a structure with double bonds or aromatic rings – the carrier mobility is higher than when using saturated molecules, such as hydrocarbons. “The structure of the molecular bridge plays a key role,” explains Paolo Samorì, from Graphene Flagship partner the University of Strasbourg, France, who led the study. “We use molecules called di-thiols, which you can readily buy from any chemical supplier’s catalogue,” he adds. Their available structural diversity opens a world of possibilities to regulate the conductivity, adapting it to each specific application. “Molecular bridges will help us integrate many new functions in TMD-based devices,” continues Samorì. “These inks can be printed on any surface, like plastic, fabric or paper, enabling a whole variety of new circuitry and sensors for flexible electronics and wearables.”

Maria Smolander, Graphene Flagship Work Package Leader for Flexible Electronics, adds: “This work is of high importance as a crucial step towards the full exploitation of solution-based fabrication methods like printing in flexible electronics. The use of the covalently bound bridges improves both the structural and electrical properties of the thin layers based on TMD flakes.”

Andrea C. Ferrari, Science and Technology Officer of the Graphene Flagship and Chair of its Management Panel, adds: “The Graphene Flagship pioneered both liquid phase exfoliation and inkjet printing of graphene and layered materials. These techniques can produce and handle large volumes of materials. This paper is a key step to make semiconducting layered materials available for printed, flexible and wearable electronics, and yet again pushes forward the state of the art.”

###

Media Contact
Fernando Gomollon-Bel
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41565-021-00857-9

Tags: Chemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesMaterialsNanotechnology/MicromachinesPolymer ChemistrySuperconductors/SemiconductorsTelecommunications
Share25Tweet16Share4ShareSendShare
  • Amanda Poholek, Ph.D.

    Reinvigorating ‘lost cause’ exhausted T cells could improve cancer immunotherapy

    136 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34
  • Nuclear war would cause a global famine and kill billions, Rutgers-led study finds

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • The best way to take pills according to science

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • 1 in 3 parents worry that school traffic is a danger for kids

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Exercise answer: Research shows it’s how often you do it, not how much

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Null results research now published by major behavioral medicine journal

    384 shares
    Share 154 Tweet 96
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

Reinvigorating ‘lost cause’ exhausted T cells could improve cancer immunotherapy

Experts optimistic about converting coal plants to production of clean geothermal energy

A role for cell ‘antennae’ in managing dopamine signals in the brain

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 193 other subscribers

© 2022 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2022 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In