Organic electronics is a field of materials science concerning the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of organic molecules or polymers that show desirable electronic properties such as conductivity. Unlike conventional inorganic conductors and semiconductors, organic electronic materials are constructed from organic (carbon-based) molecules or polymers using synthetic strategies developed in the context of organic chemistry and polymer chemistry.
In organic chemistry, a sulfide or thioether is an organosulfur functional group with the connectivity R−S−R' as shown on right. Like many other sulfur-containing compounds, volatile sulfides have foul odors. A sulfide is similar to an ether except that it contains a sulfur atom in place of the oxygen. The grouping of oxygen and sulfur in the periodic table suggests that the chemical properties of ethers and sulfides are somewhat similar, though the extent to which this is true in practice varies depending on the application.
Conductive polymers or, more precisely, intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) are organic polymers that conduct electricity. Such compounds may have metallic conductivity or can be semiconductors. The main advantage of conductive polymers is that they are easy to process, mainly by dispersion. Conductive polymers are generally not thermoplastics, i.e., they are not thermoformable. But, like insulating polymers, they are organic materials. They can offer high electrical conductivity but do not show similar mechanical properties to other commercially available polymers. The electrical properties can be fine-tuned using the methods of organic synthesis and by advanced dispersion techniques.
Polythiophenes (PTs) are polymerized thiophenes, a sulfur heterocycle. The parent PT is an insoluble colored solid with the formula (C4H2S)n. The rings are linked through the 2- and 5-positions. Poly(alkylthiophene)s have alkyl substituents at the 3- or 4-position(s). They are also colored solids, but tend to be soluble in organic solvents.
Organic semiconductors are solids whose building blocks are pi-bonded molecules or polymers made up by carbon and hydrogen atoms and – at times – heteroatoms such as nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. They exist in the form of molecular crystals or amorphous thin films. In general, they are electrical insulators, but become semiconducting when charges are injected from appropriate electrodes or are introduced by doping or photoexcitation.
In chemistry, charge-transfer (CT) complex, or electron donor-acceptor complex, describes a type of supramolecular assembly of two or more molecules or ions. The assembly consists of two molecules that self-attract through electrostatic forces, i.e., one has at least partial negative charge and the partner has partial positive charge, referred to respectively as the electron acceptor and electron donor. In some cases, the degree of charge transfer is "complete", such that the CT complex can be classified as a salt. In other cases, the charge-transfer association is weak, and the interaction can be disrupted easily by polar solvents.
Diethyl azodicarboxylate, conventionally abbreviated as DEAD and sometimes as DEADCAT, is an organic compound with the structural formula CH3CH2−O−C(=O)−N=N−C(=O)−O−CH2CH3. Its molecular structure consists of a central azo functional group, RN=NR, flanked by two ethyl ester groups. This orange-red liquid is a valuable reagent but also quite dangerous and explodes upon heating. Therefore, commercial shipment of pure diethyl azodicarboxylate is prohibited in the United States and is carried out either in solution or on polystyrene particles.
In chemistry, stacking refers to superposition of molecules or atomic sheets owing to attractive interactions between these molecules or sheets.
An electron acceptor is a chemical entity that accepts electrons transferred to it from another compound. Electron acceptors are oxidizing agents.
Dithiolene metal complexes are complexes containing 1,2-dithiolene ligands. 1,2-Dithiolene ligands, a particular case of 1,2-dichalcogenolene species along with 1,2-diselenolene derivatives, are unsaturated bidentate ligand wherein the two donor atoms are sulfur. 1,2-Dithiolene metal complexes are often referred to as "metal dithiolenes", "metallodithiolenes" or "dithiolene complexes". Most molybdenum- and tungsten-containing proteins have dithiolene-like moieties at their active sites, which feature the so-called molybdopterin cofactor bound to the Mo or W.
Tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) is an organic compound with the chemical formula (N≡C−)2C=C6H4=C(−C≡N)2. It is an orange crystalline solid. This cyanocarbon, a relative of para-quinone, is an electron acceptor that is used to prepare charge transfer salts, which are of interest in molecular electronics.
A molecular solid is a solid consisting of discrete molecules. The cohesive forces that bind the molecules together are van der Waals forces, dipole–dipole interactions, quadrupole interactions, π–π interactions, hydrogen bonding, halogen bonding, London dispersion forces, and in some molecular solids, coulombic interactions. Van der Waals, dipole interactions, quadrupole interactions, π–π interactions, hydrogen bonding, and halogen bonding are typically much weaker than the forces holding together other solids: metallic, ionic, and network solids.
Trimethyl phosphite is an organophosphorus compound with the formula P(OCH3)3, often abbreviated P(OMe)3. It is a colorless liquid with a highly pungent odor. It is the simplest phosphite ester and finds used as a ligand in organometallic chemistry and as a reagent in organic synthesis. The molecule features a pyramidal phosphorus(III) center bound to three methoxy groups.
Charge ordering (CO) is a phase transition occurring mostly in strongly correlated materials such as transition metal oxides or organic conductors. Due to the strong interaction between electrons, charges are localized on different sites leading to a disproportionation and an ordered superlattice. It appears in different patterns ranging from vertical to horizontal stripes to a checkerboard–like pattern , and it is not limited to the two-dimensional case. The charge order transition is accompanied by symmetry breaking and may lead to ferroelectricity. It is often found in close proximity to superconductivity and colossal magnetoresistance.
Croconate violet or 1,3-bis(dicyanomethylene)croconate is a divalent anion with chemical formula C
11N
4O2−
3 or ((N≡C−)2C=)2(C5O3)2−. It is one of the pseudo-oxocarbon anions, as it can be described as a derivative of the croconate oxocarbon anion C
5O2−
5 through the replacement of two oxygen atoms by dicyanomethylene groups =C(−C≡N)2. Its systematic name is 3,5-bis(dicyanomethylene)-1,2,4-trionate. The term croconate violet as a dye name specifically refers to the dipotassium salt K
2C
11N
4O
3.
Cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) is a molecule that belongs to the class of cyclophanes, and consists of aromatic units connected by methylene bridges. It is able to incorporate small guest molecules, and has as such plays an important role in host–guest chemistry and supramolecular chemistry.
In chemistry, pi stacking refers to the presumptively attractive, noncovalent pi interactions between the pi bonds of aromatic rings, because of orbital overlap. According to some authors direct stacking of aromatic rings is electrostatically repulsive.
Transition-metal allyl complexes are coordination complexes with allyl and its derivatives as ligands. Allyl is the radical with the connectivity CH2CHCH2, although as a ligand it is usually viewed as an allyl anion CH2=CH−CH2−, which is usually described as two equivalent resonance structures.
Dithiolium salts are compounds of the formula [(RC)3S2]+X− (R = H, alkyl, aryl, etc.). These salts consist of a planar organic cation with a variety of anions such as halides. The five-membered ring cations are observed in either of two isomers, 1,2- and 1,3-dithiolium cations. These cations differ with respect to the relative positions of the pair of sulfur atoms. Both isomers feature a planar ring, which is aromatic owing to the presence of 6π electrons. For example, the 1,2-ditholium ring can be represented as an allyl cation of the three carbons, with each sulfur atom donating one of its lone pairs of electrons to give a total of three pairs.
Sodium 1,3-dithiole-2-thione-4,5-dithiolate is the organosulfur compound with the formula Na2C3S5, abbreviated Na2dmit. It is the sodium salt of the conjugate base of the 4,5-bis(sulfanyl)-1,3-dithiole-2-thione. The salt is a precursor to dithiolene complexes and tetrathiafulvalenes.
