title: Spray printing of organic semiconducting single crystals.
abstract: Single-crystal semiconductors have been at the forefront of scientific interest for more than 70 years, serving as the backbone of electronic devices. Inorganic single crystals are typically grown from a melt using time-consuming and energy-intensive processes. Organic semiconductor single crystals, however, can be grown using solution-based methods at room temperature in air, opening up the possibility of large-scale production of inexpensive electronics targeting applications ranging from field-effect transistors and light-emitting diodes to medical X-ray detectors. Here we demonstrate a low-cost, scalable spray-printing process to fabricate high-quality organic single crystals, based on various semiconducting small molecules on virtually any substrate by combining the advantages of antisolvent crystallization and solution shearing. The crystals' size, shape and orientation are controlled by the sheer force generated by the spray droplets' impact onto the antisolvent's surface. This method demonstrates the feasibility of a spray-on single-crystal organic electronics.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK.|National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LW, UK.
authors.forename: Grigorios-Panagiotis
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Rigas
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, USA.
authors.forename: Marcia M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, USA.
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Anthony
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: Peter N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Horton
authors.affiliation: National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LW, UK.
authors.forename: Fernando A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2409-8300
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK.
authors.forename: Maxim
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shkunov