Researchers at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Canada and the University of Strasbourg, France, demonstrated the role played by molecular vibrations on electron conductivity on crystals in molecules that can conduct electricity, paving the way for developing even more efficient materials for electronics.
The study observing the relationship between the structure of materials and their ability to conduct electricity was published in the Advanced Materials journal, and this finding is important for applications of molecular materials in electronics, energy and information storage.
The group headed by Professor Emanuele Orgiu, scientific director of the Molecular and Device Physics Laboratory at INRS, measured the speed of propagation of electrons in crystals formed by these molecules.
The group compared two perylene diimide derivatives, semiconducting molecules used in flexible devices, smart clothes or foldable electronics that had similar chemical structures, but very different conduction properties.
To determine what caused this difference, the group was able to establish that the different molecular vibrations composing the material were responsible for the different electrical behavior observed in devices. The team is the first to demonstrate which vibrations have the greatest influence on electron flows.
“For a current to flow through a material, electrons must ‘hop’ from one molecule to the neighbouring one. Depending on the level of ‘movement’ of the molecules, which depends on the amplitude and energy of the related vibrations (called phonons), the electrons can move more or less easily through the material, Orgiu says.
“By knowing what type of vibrations allows charges to move more easily, we are providing chemists with a formula for synthesizing the right materials, rather than going in blindly,” explains Marc-Antoine Stoeckel.
This research opens up new applications that could not be envisaged with silicon, the most widely used material in electronics, including computers.
Image – Courtesy of Adobe Stock Photo.
For more information:
Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique
https://inrs.ca/en/
