While biology commonly exploits structure-directing macromolecules to direct the growth of functional crystalline nano- and micro-structures, efforts to use such crystal growth modifiers to direct the formation of synthetic organic nanocrystals remain in their early stages. Our group has recently discovered that p-conjugated polymers, such as poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) serve to modify the growth of p -conjugated small molecules, such as N,N’-dioctyl perylene diimide (PDI), through adsorption of polymers to particular crystal faces. This allows for the growth of PDI nanocrystals with well-defined dimensions and branched architectures. As P3HT itself can crystallize, and is preferentially nucleated by the PDI crystal surfaces, mixtures of the two rise to hybrid materials consisting of nanowires of each component oriented in orthogonal directions. Thanks to the ability of these materials to simultaneously function as n-type transistors, p-type transistors, or p/n diodes, depending on how they are addressed, we show that they provide intrinsically high-dimensional responses upon exposure to vapor analytes, offering promise as ‘electronic noses’.

Polymer-regulated growth of hybrid semiconductor nanostructures with applications as ‘electronic noses’

2019 Spring National Meeting

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