Collaborative Research: Modular Design of Cross-Conjugated Organic Semiconductors

爱荷华州立大学的Malika Jeffries-El由大分子、超分子和纳米化学计划资助，由来自爱荷华州立大学和北乔治亚学院的科学家团队参与合作研究。该团队正在开发有机的新电子材料，这意味着它们是由碳基分子制成的，而不是更常用的无机材料，如硅或锗。除了它们的相对丰度之外，这些有机材料的制造成本要低得多，并提供了无机物质所没有的一系列性质。在这个项目中，将综合、理论计算和物理测量研究相结合来设计和制造工作中的电子器件。这项工作不仅对电子行业产生了广泛的影响，而且通过为本科生和研究生提供跨学科的研究经验，通过针对所有教育水平的女性和代表性较低的少数民族学生的创造性推广努力，培养了人们对化学的兴趣。该项目专注于开发用于有机发光二极管和光伏电池的新的交叉共轭有机半导体。特别是，由强健的苯并双恶唑(BBO)部分组成的新型交叉共轭低聚物正在被研究。BBO是一种独特的交叉共轭环系，可以通过恶唑环或中心苯环偶联，产生不同性质的物质，因此被用作缺电子的构建块。该小组正在合成具有垂直共轭轴线的材料，因为它们具有空间分离的前沿分子轨道。这提供了一种半独立调谐最低空分子轨道(LUMO)或最高占据分子轨道(HOMO)的方法。这种方法的好处是，交叉共轭平台允许有机会针对特定应用优化材料-S的光学和电学性质。各种材料正在准备中，最有希望的材料正在通过并入工作装置进行进一步研究。

Malika Jeffries-EL of Iowa State University is funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program for collaborative research involving a team of scientists from both Iowa State and North Georgia College. The team is developing new electronics materials that are organic, meaning they are made from carbon-based molecules rather than the more commonly used inorganic materials, such as those based on silicon or germanium. In addition to their relative abundance, these organic materials have much lower fabrication costs and provide a range of properties not found in the inorganic substances. In this project, a combination of synthesis, theoretical calculations and physical measurement studies are being combined to design and fabricate working electronic devices. This work is having a broad impact not only on the electronics industry, but also by providing an interdisciplinary research experience for both undergraduate and graduate students, which fosters an interest in chemistry through a creative outreach effort targeting female and underrepresented minority students at all educational levels.This project focuses on developing new cross-conjugated organic semiconductors for use in organic light emitting diodes and photovoltaic cells. In particular, novel cross-conjugated oligomers comprised of the robust benzobisoxazole (BBO) moiety are being studied. BBO is used as the electron-deficient building block since it is a unique cross-conjugated ring system that can be coupled either through the oxazole rings or through the central benzene ring, producing substances with different properties. The group is synthesizing materials with perpendicular conjugation axes because they have spatially segregated frontier molecular orbitals. This provides a means for semi-independent tuning of either the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) or highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO). The benefits of the approach are that the cross-conjugated platform allows for the opportunity to optimize the material?s optical and electronic properties for specific applications. Various materials are being prepared and the most promising ones studied further by incorporation into working devices.