Hou Sihui, Zhuang Xinming, Fan Huidong, Yu Junsheng
State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu 610054, China.
Sensors (Basel). 2021 Jan 1;21(1):226. doi: 10.3390/s21010226.
The microstructure of the organic semiconductor (OSC) active layer is one of the crucial topics to improve the sensing performance of gas sensors. Herein, we introduce a simple solvent vapor annealing (SVA) process to control 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene (TIPS-pentacene) OSC films morphology and thus yields high-sensitivity nitrogen organic thin-film transistor (OTFT)-based nitrogen dioxide (NO) sensors. Compared to pristine devices, the toluene SVA-treated devices exhibit an order of magnitude responsivity enhancement to 10 ppm NO, further with a limit of detection of 148 ppb. Systematic studies on the microstructure of the TIPS-pentacene films reveal the large density grain boundaries formed by the SVA process, improving the capability for the adsorption of gas molecules, thus causing high-sensitivity to NO. This simple SVA processing strategy provides an effective and reliable access for realizing high-sensitivity OTFT NO sensors.
有机半导体(OSC)活性层的微观结构是提高气体传感器传感性能的关键课题之一。在此,我们引入一种简单的溶剂蒸汽退火(SVA)工艺来控制6,13-双(三异丙基硅乙炔基)-并五苯(TIPS-并五苯)OSC薄膜的形态,从而制备出基于高灵敏度氮有机薄膜晶体管(OTFT)的二氧化氮(NO)传感器。与原始器件相比,经甲苯SVA处理的器件对10 ppm NO的响应率提高了一个数量级,检测限进一步低至148 ppb。对TIPS-并五苯薄膜微观结构的系统研究揭示了SVA工艺形成的高密度晶界,提高了气体分子的吸附能力,从而对NO具有高灵敏度。这种简单的SVA处理策略为实现高灵敏度OTFT NO传感器提供了一种有效且可靠的途径。