Benzohexacene guide in accurate determination of field effect carrier mobilities in long acenes.

Oligoacenes are promising materials in the field of electronic devices since they exhibit high charge carrier mobility and more particularly as a semiconductor in thin film transistors. Herein, we investigate the field effect charge carrier mobility of benzohexacene, recently obtained by cheletropic decarbonylation at moderate temperature. Initially, high performance bottom contact organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) were fabricated using tetracene to validate the fabrication process. For easier comparison, the geometries and channel sizes of the fabricated devices are the same for the two acenes. The charge transport in OTFTs being closely related to the organic thin film at the dielectric/organic semiconductor interface, the structural and morphological features of the thin films of both materials are therefore studied according to deposition conditions. Finally, by extracting relevant device parameters the benzohexacene based OTFT shows a four-probe contact-corrected hole mobility value of up to 0.2 cm2 V-1 s-1.

Towards integrated multi-sensor platform using dual electrochemical and optical detection for on-site pollutant detection in water.

The present work is dedicated to the development of a lab-on-chip (LOC) device for water toxicity environmental analysis and more especially herbicide detection. The final goal is focused on the functional integration of three-electrode electrochemical microcells (ElecCell) and organic photodetectors (OPD) in order to perform simultaneously electrochemical and optical detection in the frame of algal metabolism monitoring. Considering three different algae, ie. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Chlorella vulgaris while dealing with photosynthesis, the multi-microsensor platform enables to measure the variations of microalgae fluorescence as well as oxygen production. It is applied to study the Diuron herbicide influences on algal metabolism, evidencing fluorescence enhancement and oxygen production inhibition for concentrations as low as few tens of nanomoles. These results are performed with unconcentrated and six time concentrated algae solutions respectively, to estimate the ability of this dual-sensor system to conduct measurements without any sample preparation. Thus, according to the obtained results, the proposed LOC device is fully adapted to the electrochemical/optical dual detection for on-site pollutant analysis, ie. without sample pre-treatment.

Nanoscale investigations on interchain organization in thin films of polymer-liquid crystal blend.

Optimized nanomorphology in organic thin active layers is crucial for good performance in organic solar cells. However, the relation between morphology and electronic properties at nanoscale remains not completely understood. Here, we study the effect of film thickness and temperature annealing on the ordering of poly(3-hexylthiophene) chains when the polymer is blended with a columnar liquid crystalline molecule. Electronic absorption, atomic force microscopy measurements, and Raman spectroscopy show that morphology and chain ordering of the blend depend on the film thickness. We highlight the benefit of using a liquid crystal in organic blends, opening the way to use simple processing methods for the fabrication of organic electronic devices.

Development of a lab-on-chip electrochemical biosensor for water quality analysis based on microalgal photosynthesis.

The present work was dedicated to the development of a lab-on-chip device for water toxicity analysis and more particularly herbicide detection in water. It consists in a portable system for on-site detection composed of three-electrode electrochemical microcells, integrated on a fluidic platform constructed on a glass substrate. The final goal is to yield a system that gives the possibility of conducting double, complementary detection: electrochemical and optical and therefore all materials used for the fabrication of the lab-on-chip platform were selected in order to obtain a device compatible with optical technology. The basic detection principle consisted in electrochemically monitoring disturbances in metabolic photosynthetic activities of algae induced by the presence of Diuron herbicide. Algal response, evaluated through oxygen (O2) monitoring through photosynthesis was different for each herbicide concentration in the examined sample. A concentration-dependent inhibition effect of the herbicide on photosynthesis was demonstrated. Herbicide detection was achieved through a range (blank - 1 µM Diuron herbicide solution) covering the limit of maximum acceptable concentration imposed by Canadian government (0.64 µM), using a halogen white light source for the stimulation of algal photosynthetic apparatus. Superior sensitivity results (limit of detection of around 0.1 µM) were obtained with an organic light emitting diode (OLED), having an emission spectrum adapted to algal absorption spectrum and assembled on the final system.

Integrated electrochemical biosensor based on algal metabolism for water toxicity analysis.

An autonomous electrochemical biosensor with three electrodes integrated on the same silicon chip dedicated to the detection of herbicides in water was fabricated by means of silicon-based microfabrication technology. Platinum (Pt), platinum black (Pt Bl), tungsten/tungsten oxide (W/WO3) and iridium oxide (Pt/IrO2) working ultramicroelectrodes were developed. Ag/AgCl and Pt electrodes were used as reference and counter-integrated electrodes respectively. Physical vapor deposition (PVD) and electrodeposition were used for thin film deposition. The ultramicroelectrodes were employed for the detection of O2, H2O2 and pH related ions H3O(+)/OH(-), species taking part in photosynthetic and metabolic activities of algae. By measuring the variations in consumption-production rates of these electroactive species by algae, the quantity of herbicides present at trace level in the solution can be estimated. Fabricated ultramicroelectrodes were electrochemically characterized and calibrated. Pt Black ultramicroelectrodes exhibited the greatest sensitivity regarding O2 and H2O2 detection while Pt/IrO2 ultramicroelectrodes were more sensitive for pH measurement compared to W/WO3 ultramicroelectrodes for pH measurement. Bioassays were then conducted to detect traces of Diuron herbicide in water samples by evaluating disturbances in photosynthetic and metabolic activities of algae caused by this herbicide.

Crystal and electronic structure of a fluorescent columnar liquid crystalline electron transport material.

A very favorable LUMO energy for cathodic electron injection is found in the crystalline state of the mesogenic red fluorescent perylene derivative 1. It is one of the rare cases where the columnar crystal structure of such a compound could be established directly by X-ray investigation.