Pentagonal ring-shaped molecules attach firmly to a copper surface caused by significant charge transfer but have minimal difficulty in side-ways diffusion and show a small level of interaction between adjacent molecules.
This enables the development of high-density durable thin films, which comprise these organic pentagonal units having prospective applications in solar power, computing and innovative display technologies.
Presently, commercial electronics has adopted a top-down approach wherein they are more focused on etching away of organic materials resulting in nanometer scaled devices. Now, researchers are exploring the bottom-up approach to create devices with self-assembling organic materials e.g. Polymers that would have the preferred optical or electronic features.Research teams are working at the University of Cambridge and Rutgers University in an endeavor to create new types of organic thin films. The research involves a study of the basics behind self-assembling thin films, which would enable aggregating the films into nano-scale organic-electronic systems so that one is able to obtain nano-sizes that are impossible with conventional fabrication methods.
The factors determining whether a molecule can be integrated into a device are not just related to its electronic properties but also whether it could auto assemble into the predetermined design configuration and its ability to remain steady in that position even when the system overheats during use.
Molecules attached securely to the substrate with a significant degree of charge transfer offer multiple possibilities. Many organic molecules, with carbon rings, across which electronic charge conductivity is possible display essential electronic properties, but long-range factors controlling their auto assembly during initial stages are unknown.
Source: http://www.cam.ac.uk