Michele Sessolo

Hybrid Organic–Inorganic Light-Emitting Diodes

The demonstration of colour tunability and high efficiency has brought organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) into the displays and lighting market. However, high production costs due to expensive deposition techniques and the use of reactive materials still limit their market entry, highlighting the need for novel concepts. This has driven the research towards the integration of both organic and inorganic materials into devices that benefit from their respective peculiar properties. The most representative example of this tendency is the application of metal oxides in organic optoelectronics. Metal oxides combine properties such as high transparency, good electrical conductivities, tuneable morphology, and the possibility of deposition on large areas with low-cost techniques. The use of metal oxides as charge injection interfaces in OLEDs has also been investigated. Hybrid organic-inorganic light-emitting diodes (HyLEDs) are inverted OLEDs that employ air-stable metal oxides as the charge injection contacts. They are emerging as a potential competitor to standard OLEDs, thanks to their intrinsic air stable electrodes and solution processability, which could result in low-cost, large area, light-emitting devices. This article reviews the short history of this class of devices from its first solid state example published in 2006 to the present achievements. The data presented shed light on the electronic mechanism behind the functioning of HyLEDs and give guidelines for their further optimization.

High transconductance organic electrochemical transistors.

The development of transistors with high gain is essential for applications ranging from switching elements and drivers to transducers for chemical and biological sensing. Organic transistors have become well-established based on their distinct advantages, including ease of fabrication, synthetic freedom for chemical functionalization, and the ability to take on unique form factors. These devices, however, are largely viewed as belonging to the low-end of the performance spectrum. Here we present organic electrochemical transistors with a transconductance in the mS range, outperforming transistors from both traditional and emerging semiconductors. The transconductance of these devices remains fairly constant from DC up to a frequency of the order of 1 kHz, a value determined by the process of ion transport between the electrolyte and the channel. These devices, which continue to work even after being crumpled, are predicted to be highly relevant as transducers in biosensing applications.

Air stable hybrid organic-inorganic light emitting diodes using ZnO as the cathode

An air stable hybrid organic-inorganic light emitting device is presented. This architecture makes use of metal oxides as charge injecting materials into the light emitting polymer, avoiding the use of air sensitive cathodes commonly employed in organic light emitting diode manufacturing. We report the application of zinc oxide as a cathode in an organic light emitting device. This electroluminescent device shows high brightness levels reaching 6500cd∕m2 at voltages as low as 8V. Compared to a conventional device using low workfunction metal cathodes, our device shows a lower turn-on voltage and it can operate in air.

High-performance transistors for bioelectronics through tuning of channel thickness

Transistors with tunable transconductance allow high-quality recordings of human brain rhythms. Despite recent interest in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), sparked by their straightforward fabrication and high performance, the fundamental mechanism behind their operation remains largely unexplored. OECTs use an electrolyte in direct contact with a polymer channel as part of their device structure. Hence, they offer facile integration with biological milieux and are currently used as amplifying transducers for bioelectronics. Ion exchange between electrolyte and channel is believed to take place in OECTs, although the extent of this process and its impact on device characteristics are still unknown. We show that the uptake of ions from an electrolyte into a film of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) leads to a purely volumetric capacitance of 39 F/cm3. This results in a dependence of the transconductance on channel thickness, a new degree of freedom that we exploit to demonstrate high-quality recordings of human brain rhythms. Our results bring to the forefront a transistor class in which performance can be tuned independently of device footprint and provide guidelines for the design of materials that will lead to state-of-the-art transistor performance.

Structural control of mixed ionic and electronic transport in conducting polymers.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(styrenesulfonate), PEDOT:PSS, has been utilized for over two decades as a stable, solution-processable hole conductor. While its hole transport properties have been the subject of intense investigation, recent work has turned to PEDOT:PSS as a mixed ionic/electronic conductor in applications including bioelectronics, energy storage and management, and soft robotics. Conducting polymers can efficiently transport both holes and ions when sufficiently hydrated, however, little is known about the role of morphology on mixed conduction. Here, we show that bulk ionic and electronic mobilities are simultaneously affected by processing-induced changes in nano- and meso-scale structure in PEDOT:PSS films. We quantify domain composition, and find that domain purification on addition of dispersion co-solvents limits ion mobility, even while electronic conductivity improves. We show that an optimal morphology allows for the balanced ionic and electronic transport that is critical for prototypical mixed conductor devices. These findings may pave the way for the rational design of polymeric materials and processing routes to enhance devices reliant on mixed conduction.

Influence of Device Geometry on Sensor Characteristics of Planar Organic Electrochemical Transistors

The response of PEDOT:PSS planar electrochemical transistors to H2O2 can be tuned by varying the ratio between the areas of the channel and the gate electrode. Devices with small gates show lower background signal and higher sensitivity. The detection range, on the other hand, is found to be rather independent of the gate/channel area ratio.

Easy‐to‐Fabricate Conducting Polymer Microelectrode Arrays

A simple and versatile fabrication process is used to define conducting polymer microelectrode arrays (MEAs), patterning at the same time the recording electrodes as well as the insulating layer. Thanks to the low impedance of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes, these MEAs allow in vitro recording of action potentials from rat hippocampus slices.

Efficient vacuum deposited p-i-n and n-i-p perovskite solar cells employing doped charge transport layers

Methylammonium lead halide perovskites have emerged as high performance photovoltaic materials. Most of these solar cells are prepared via solution-processing and record efficiencies (>20%) have been obtained employing perovskites with mixed halides and organic cations on (mesoscopic) metal oxides. Here, we demonstrate fully vacuum deposited planar perovskite solar cells by depositing methylammonium lead iodide in between intrinsic and doped organic charge transport molecules. Two configurations, one inverted with respect to the other, p-i-n and n-i-p, are prepared and optimized leading to planar solar cells without hysteresis and very high efficiencies, 16.5% and 20%, respectively. It is the first time that a direct comparison between these two opposite device configurations has been reported. These fully vacuum deposited solar cells, employing doped organic charge transport layers, validate for the first time vacuum based processing as a real alternative for perovskite solar cell preparation.

Organic Electrochemical Transistors with Maximum Transconductance at Zero Gate Bias

By varying device geometry we have engineered organic electrochemical transistors that exhibit their maximum transconductance at zero gate bias. This enables the design of a simplified amplifying transducer, allowing for improved integration with biomedical systems where prolonged gate bias can be detrimental.

White-light phosphorescence emission from a single molecule: application to OLED

A simple mononuclear cyclometallated iridium(iii) complex exhibits white photo- and electro- luminescence in the wavelength range from 440 to 800 nm, which originates from a single emitting excited state of mixed character.