Biomedical subjects

Ali Afzali

Publications and source records attributed to Ali Afzali.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Self-assembled multilayers of transition-metal-terpyridinyl complexes; formation, and characterization.

Layer-by-layer (LBL) growth of terpyridinyl ligands with a range of metal ions is reported. Monolayers of mercaptophenyl terpyridine on gold were used to initiate LBL assembly by complexing the first layer of metal ions. Tetra-2-pyridinylpyrazine was used as a linking ligand between subsequent metal ion layers. The assembly of the terpyridines with 21 different metals was evaluated using UV absorbance spectroscopy, variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, and atomic force microscopy. Successful LBL growth appears to depend on the ionic radius of the metal ion. Metals that formed multilayered LBL structures were primarily limited to a small range of effective ionic radii between 66 and 73 pm. Metal ions with smaller ionic radii usually formed initial layers but seldom exhibited consistent LBL growth, while ions with radii larger than 73 nm generally did not demonstrate any evidence of LBL growth.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Chemical complementarity in the contacts for nanoscale organic field-effect transistors.

This study describes the effect of covalent derivatization of source and drain electrodes with monolayers of organic semiconductors. These monolayers form a template on the metal surface and provide better electronic coupling between the electrode and the semiconductor. We see a large improvement in nanoscale (40-100 nm) transistors only when the monolayer presents functionality that is complementary to the chemical and electronic structure of the molecular semiconductor.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Field-effect transistors assembled from functionalized carbon nanotubes.

We have fabricated field-effect transistors from carbon nanotubes using a novel selective placement scheme. We use carbon nanotubes that are covalently bound to molecules containing a hydroxamic acid functionality. The functionalized nanotubes bind strongly to basic metal oxide surfaces, but not to silicon dioxide. Upon annealing, the functionalization is removed, restoring the electronic properties of the nanotubes. The devices thus fabricated show excellent electrical characteristics.

Electrochemistry↗

PubMed2005

Charge transfer induced polarity switching in carbon nanotube transistors.

We probed the charge transfer interaction between the amine-containing molecules hydrazine, polyaniline, and aminobutyl phosphonic acid and carbon nanotube field effect transistors (CNTFETs). We successfully converted p-type CNTFETs to n-type and drastically improved the device performance in both the ON- and OFF-transistor states, utilizing hydrazine as dopant. We effectively switched the transistor polarity between p- and n- type by accessing different oxidation states of polyaniline. We also demonstrated the flexibility of modulating the threshold voltage (Vth) of a CNTFET by engineering various charge-accepting and -donating groups in the same molecule.

Amines↗

PubMed2004

A photopatternable pentacene precursor for use in organic thin-film transistors.

We demonstrate that modifying pentacene to incorporate an acid-labile moiety into its molecular structure leads to a new precursor that can be easily deposited, photopatterned, and processed via wet-chemical methods to produce organic semiconducting devices exhibiting good electrical characteristics. Acidic conditions produced by ultraviolet illumination of a co-deposited photoacid generator greatly accelerate the local conversion of this N-sulfinyl-tert-butylcarbamate pentacene adduct back to pentacene. Photopatterned thin-film transistors exhibit carrier mobilities in excess of 0.1 cm2 V-1 s-1, making this an attractive precursor for fabrication of large-area organic electronics via solution-phase methods.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Selective electroless metal deposition using microcontact printing of phosphine-phosphonic acid inks.

We report a low-cost approach to selectively deposit films of nickel and copper on glass substrates. Our approach uses microcontact printing of organic inks containing phosphonic acid groups to bind the ink to a glass substrate and phosphine groups to bind a colloidal catalyst that initiates electroless metallization. We demonstrate this procedure by fabricating patterned nickel and copper films with areas as large as 15 cm2 and minimum feature sizes of approximately 2 microm. We present studies on the use of two ink types, an oligomer and a bifunctional molecule, and demonstrate that pattern quality and adhesion of the metallized films depends on the molecular weight of the ink and the ratio of phosphine and phosphonic acid groups.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

High-mobility ultrathin semiconducting films prepared by spin coating.

The ability to deposit and tailor reliable semiconducting films (with a particular recent emphasis on ultrathin systems) is indispensable for contemporary solid-state electronics. The search for thin-film semiconductors that provide simultaneously high carrier mobility and convenient solution-based deposition is also an important research direction, with the resulting expectations of new technologies (such as flexible or wearable computers, large-area high-resolution displays and electronic paper) and lower-cost device fabrication. Here we demonstrate a technique for spin coating ultrathin (approximately 50 A), crystalline and continuous metal chalcogenide films, based on the low-temperature decomposition of highly soluble hydrazinium precursors. We fabricate thin-film field-effect transistors (TFTs) based on semiconducting SnS(2-x)Se(x) films, which exhibit n-type transport, large current densities (>10(5) A cm(-2)) and mobilities greater than 10 cm2 V(-1) s(-1)--an order of magnitude higher than previously reported values for spin-coated semiconductors. The spin-coating technique is expected to be applicable to a range of metal chalcogenides, particularly those based on main group metals, as well as for the fabrication of a variety of thin-film-based devices (for example, solar cells, thermoelectrics and memory devices).

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

High-performance, solution-processed organic thin film transistors from a novel pentacene precursor.

The Lewis acid-catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction of the organic semiconductor pentacene with N-sulfinylacetamide yields a soluble adduct. Spin-coated thin films of this adduct undergo solid-phase conversion to form thin films of pentacene at moderate temperatures. Organic thin film transistors fabricated by spin-coating this adduct, followed by thermal conversion to pentacene, exhibit the highest mobility reported to date for a solution-processed organic semiconductor.

Journal Article↗