title: Chemical Self-Doping of Organic Nanoribbons for High Conductivity and Potential Application as Chemiresistive Sensor.
abstract: Intrinsically low electrical conductivity of organic semiconductors hinders their further development into practical electronic devices. Herein, we report on an efficient chemical self-doping to increase the conductivity through one-dimensional stacking arrangement of electron donor-acceptor (D-A) molecules. The D-A molecule employed was a 1-methylpiperidine-substituted perylene tetracarboxylic diimide (MP-PTCDI), of which the methylpiperidine moiety is a strong electron donor, and can form a charge transfer complex with PTCDI (acting as the acceptor), generating anionic radical of PTCDI as evidenced in molecular solutions. Upon self-assembling into nanoribbons through columnar π-π stacking, the intermolecular charge transfer interaction between methylpiperidine and PTCDI would be enhanced, and the electrons generated are delocalized along the π-π stacking of PTCDIs, leading to enhancement in conductivity. The conductive fiber materials thus produced can potentially be used as chemiresistive sensor for vapor detection of electron deficient chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, taking advantage of the large surface area of nanofibers. As a major component of improvised explosives, hydrogen peroxide remains a critical signature chemical for public safety screening and monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Nano Institute of Utah and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah , 36 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Nano Institute of Utah and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah , 36 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Nano Institute of Utah and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah , 36 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States.|Vaporsens, Inc. , 36 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States.
authors.forename: Benjamin R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Bunes
authors.affiliation: Nano Institute of Utah and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah , 36 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States.
authors.forename: Yaqiong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Vaporsens, Inc. , 36 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States.
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Slattum
authors.affiliation: Nano Institute of Utah and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah , 36 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States.
authors.forename: Xiaomei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Nano Institute of Utah and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah , 36 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zang
keywords: chemiresistive sensor; electrical conductivity; nanoribbon; organic semiconductor; self-doping