CAREER: Charge Photogeneration and Transport in Organic Semiconductor Nanowires

非技术描述：有机半导体的易加工性和机械灵活性使其有可能广泛集成到颠覆性技术中。例如，这种材料已经被用于商业上可用的曲面电视和智能手机屏幕。该职业奖的研究部分研究了尺寸、形状和组成可控的单个有机半导体纳米线的纳米级特性，提供了对影响有机半导体纳米线电学特性的因素的基本见解，并有助于指导下一代电子、传感和能量采集技术的发展。这些研究工作与旨在激发宾厄姆顿地区年轻学生对科学的兴趣的教育活动相结合，并改善宾厄姆顿大学理科本科生的留住和培训。教育倡议支持学校教师的科学教学努力，并为来自低收入和历史上代表性不足的少数群体的学生提供实践科学活动。技术描述：到目前为止，有机半导体纳米线的电学性质主要是在由大型纳米线组成的设备上进行评估，对设备性能的纳米级起源提供了有限的见解。此外，由于缺乏对纳米线大小、形状和组成的独立控制，阻碍了对有机半导体纳米线结构和电学性质之间关系的系统研究。本项目的中心研究目标是在单纳米线和单界面水平上阐明有机半导体纳米线结构在调节电荷光生和输运中的作用。该项目考察了纳米尺度空间限制对有机半导体生长的影响，电荷传输对内部纳米线结构和纳米线界面的依赖，以及纳米线尺寸和组成对电荷光生、复合和收集的影响。采用模板化生长工艺合成了尺寸、形状和成分可控的有机半导体纳米线。纳米尺度的局域电学测量是由导电原子力显微镜完成的。这些实验提供了对有机半导体纳米线内在电性能极限的洞察，并为将这些纳米材料集成到低成本和灵活的电子设备中的努力提供了信息。

Nontechnical Description: The ease of processing and mechanical flexibility of organic semiconductors drive the potential for their broad integration into disruptive technologies. Such materials, for example, are already being used in commercially-available curved television and smartphone screens. The research component of this CAREER award investigates nanometer-scale properties of individual organic semiconductor nanowires with controlled size, shape and composition, provides fundamental insight into the factors that influence the electrical properties of organic semiconductor nanowires, and serves to guide the development of next-generation electronics, sensing, and energy harvesting technologies. These research efforts are integrated with educational activities designed to stimulate interest in science among young Binghamton-area students and to improve the retention and training of Binghamton University science undergraduates. The educational initiatives support the science teaching efforts of school teachers and provide hands-on science activities for students from low-income and historically underrepresented minority populations.Technical Description: The electrical properties of organic semiconductor nanowires have so far been predominantly assessed at the devices comprising large ensembles of nanowires, providing limited insight into the nanoscale origins of device performance. Moreover, systematic study of the relationships between organic semiconductor nanowire structure and electrical properties has been hindered by a lack of independent control over nanowire size, shape, and composition. The central research goal of this project is to elucidate the roles of organic semiconductor nanowire structure in mediating charge photogeneration and transport at the single nanowire and single interface level. The project examines the effects of nanometer-scale spatial confinement on the growth of organic semiconductors, the dependence of charge transport on internal nanowire structure and nanowire interfaces, and the influence of nanowire size and composition on charge photogeneration, recombination, and collection. Organic semiconductor nanowires of controlled size, shape, and composition are synthesized by using a templated growth process. Nanometer-scale resolution local electrical measurements are performed by conductive atomic force microscopy. These experiments provide insight into the intrinsic electrical performance limits of organic semiconductor nanowires and inform efforts to integrate these nanomaterials into low-cost and flexible electronics.