Water-stable organic transistors and their application in chemical and biological sensors

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Mark E. Roberts - , Stanford University (Author)
  • Stefan C.B. Mannsfeld - , Stanford University (Author)
  • Núria Queraltó - , Stanford University, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Author)
  • Colin Reese - , Stanford University (Author)
  • Jason Locklin - , Stanford University (Author)
  • Wolfgang Knoll - , Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Author)
  • Zhenan Bao - , Stanford University (Author)

Abstract

The development of low-cost, reliable sensors will rely on devices capable of converting an analyte binding event to an easily read electrical signal. Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) are ideal for inexpensive, single-use chemical or biological sensors because of their compatibility with flexible, large-area substrates, simple processing, and highly tunable active layer materials. We have fabricated low-operating voltage OTFTs with a cross-linked polymer gate dielectric, which display stable operation under aqueous conditions over >104 electrical cycles using the p-channel semiconductor 5,5′-bis-(7-dodecyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-2,2′-bithiophene (DDFTTF). OTFT sensors were demonstrated in aqueous solutions with concentrations as low as parts per billion for trinitrobenzene, methylphosphonic acid, cysteine, and glucose. This work demonstrates of reliable OTFT operation in aqueous media, hence opening new possibilities of chemical and biological sensing with OTFTs.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)12134-12139
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America : PNAS
Volume105
Issue number34
Publication statusPublished - 26 Aug 2008
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 18711145

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Chemical detection, Low-voltage, Organic semiconductors, Polymer dielectric