Light-triggered self-construction of supramolecular organic nanowires as metallic interconnects

Nat Chem. 2012 Apr 22;4(6):485-90. doi: 10.1038/nchem.1332.

Abstract

The construction of soft and processable organic material able to display metallic conduction properties-a large density of freely moving charges-is a major challenge for electronics. Films of doped conjugated polymers are widely used as semiconductor devices, but metallic-type transport in the bulk of such materials remains extremely rare. On the other hand, single-walled carbon nanotubes can exhibit remarkably low contact resistances with related large currents, but are intrinsically very difficult to isolate and process. Here, we describe the self-assembly of supramolecular organic nanowires between two metallic electrodes, from a solution of triarylamine derivative, under the simultaneous action of light and electric field triggers. They exhibit a combination of large conductivity values (>5 × 10(3) S m(-1)) and a low interface resistance (<2 × 10(-4) Ω m). Moreover, the resistance of nanowires in series with metal interfaces systematically decreases when the temperature is lowered to 1.5 K, revealing an intrinsic metallic behaviour.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Electricity
  • Light*
  • Metals / chemistry*
  • Microscopy, Atomic Force
  • Nanowires*
  • Polymers / chemistry

Substances

  • Metals
  • Polymers

Associated data

  • PubChem-Substance/135542726
  • PubChem-Substance/135542727
  • PubChem-Substance/135542728
  • PubChem-Substance/135542729
  • PubChem-Substance/135542730
  • PubChem-Substance/135542731
  • PubChem-Substance/135542732