Organic electronics has an extraordinary prospective for the development of electronic products that are non-toxic and environmentally friendly (bio)-degradable. An ideal alternative is given by the fabrication of such devices either from naturally occurring or from nature-inspired materials that have been proved to be degradable and/or biocompatible. Many naturally pigments are usually small hydrogen-bonded molecules as opposed to larger p-conjugated, synthetic materials like pentacene or oligothiophenes. The strong electronic coupling afforded by H-bonding yielded optical properties controlled by intermolecular interactions. Hydrogen-bonded, natural semiconductor materials have been recently investigated by our group in organic field effect transistors, and afforded performances on par with state-of-the-art synthetic organic materials. Among the materials we have exploited are naturally-occurring indigo and tyrian purple as well as a large family of synthetically produced indigoids, anthraquinones and acridones. We have demonstrated OFETs, OLEDs and integrated circuits featuring natural substrates, dielectric and semiconducting layers operating at state of the art performance. Nature inspires us to choose among a wide range of diverse materials for creating new electronic functionalities, coming closer to a vision of a green and sustainable electronics world.

Natural and nature-inspired materials for environmentally-friendly, green organic electronics

244th National Meeting (2012)

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