Organic electronics has a tremendous potential for the development of electronic products that are air-stable, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly. In their quest to identify novel materials featuring all the above characteristics, scientists are often inspired both by the apparent simplicity and by the true complexity of nature. In nature, many pigments are hydrogen-bonded small molecules as opposed to larger, van der Waals bonded synthetic compounds like phthalocyanines or oligothiophenes. Such natural pigments demonstrate H-bonding as well as p-stacking leading to charge delocalization and transport. When processed in thin films, they generate extensive long-range ordered structures with crystalline textures showing a single preferential orientation; unlike the typical herringbone pattern found in many van der Waals bonded semiconductors.  We took up the inspiration by natural chromophores and synthesized a novel library of H-bonded semiconductor pigments. The synthesis of this novel library of 'green' organic molecules started from commercially available precursor materials. Various synthetic steps led to the fabrication of H-bonded semiconductors (derivatives of the naturally occurring indigo, anthraquinone, naphthoquinone and acridone), of a specific functionality when implemented in organic electronics devices (e.g., enhanced luminescence, self-assembled monolayer, vacuum or solution processability, etc.). Implementation of such novel semiconductors in organic solar cell devices is our main research focus in order to establish a viable clean alternative to the environmentally problematic, fossil fuel based energy. A thorough biodegradability study of the synthesized compounds is under way in order to assess their stability to microbial attack and decomposition.  Nature inspires us to choose among a wide range of cheap and extensively available materials for creating new electronic functionalities, coming closer to a vision of a sustainable electronics world.

Novel routes for synthesis of hydrogen-bonded "green" organic semiconductors

245th National Meeting (2013)

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