E-GAMES · Surface Self-Assembled Molecular Electronic Devices: Logic Gates, Memories and Sensors

Organic electronic devices, such as organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), are raising an increasing interest for their potential in large area coverage and low cost applications. Also, the use of single molecules as active electronic components offers great prospects for the miniaturization of devices and for their compatibility with biological systems. Within this framework, e-GAMES goals are:1) Molecular logic gates for the storage and transmission of magnetic and optical information and for locally controlling surface wettability. The two huge limitations that hinder the application of molecules in logic gates are: i) Fabrication of devices on a solid support, ii) Concatenation of logic gates. I plan to overcome these drawbacks employing self-assembled monolayers of bistable electroactive molecules. These systems could also be used in the fabrication of surfaces with tunable wettability properties, of high interest in microfluidics and for biosensors.2) Ambipolar organic field-effect transistors with donor-acceptor systems and their exploitation in light, temperature or pressure sensors, and/or memory devices.Intramolecular electron transfer in organic semiconductors designed for preparing ambipolar OFETs will be explored for the first time. This phenomenon will be exploited for the fabrication of light, pressure or temperature stimuli-responsive OFETs bringing innovative perspectives to the field.3) Organic/inorganic hybrid devices based on field-effect transistors for sensing environmentally hazardous carbon nanoparticles.Carbon-based nanoparticles are being increasingly used in many applications despite their recognized toxicity. The grounds for the development of a new generation of nanotechnological low-cost and selective sensors based on transistors functionalized with organic sensing molecular monolayers for the detection of such materials will be developed, contributing towards the improvement of citizens’ safety and environmental preservation.