Article abstract
Nature Materials 6, 149 - 155 (2007)
Published online: 17 December 2006 | doi:10.1038/nmat1806
Subject Categories: Colloids | Electronic materials | Nanoscale materials
Controlled insulator-to-metal transformation in printable polymer composites with nanometal clusters
Sankaran Sivaramakrishnan1, Perq-Jon Chia1,2, Yee-Chia Yeo2, Lay-Lay Chua1 & Peter K.-H. Ho1
Abstract
Although organic semiconductors have received the most attention, the development of compatible passive elements, such as interconnects and electrodes, is also central to plastic electronics. For this, ligand-protected metal-cluster films have been shown to anneal at low temperatures below 250 °C to highly conductive metal films, but they suffer from cracking and inadequate substrate adhesion. Here, we report printable metal-cluster–polymer nanocomposites that anneal to a controlled-percolation nanostructure without complete sintering of the metal clusters. This overcomes the previous challenges while still retaining the desired low transformation temperatures. Highly water- and alcohol-soluble gold clusters (75 mg ml-1) were synthesized and homogeneously dispersed into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) to give a material with annealed d.c. conductivity tuneable between 10-4 and 105 S cm-1. These composites can inject holes efficiently into all-printed polymer organic transistors. The insulator–metal transformation can also be electrically induced at 1 MV cm-1, suggesting possible memory applications.
- Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Lower Kent Ridge Road S117542, Singapore
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, 117576, Singapore
Correspondence to: Lay-Lay Chua1 e-mail: phycll@nus.edu.sg
Correspondence to: Peter K.-H. Ho1 e-mail: phyhop@nus.edu.sg
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