A Concise Guide to Silicone-Based Spring-Roll Actuator Assembly.

A spring-roll actuator is a multilayer configuration of dielectric elastomer actuators that deforms in response to an electric field. To date, all spring-roll actuators are based on acrylate dielectric elastomers (DEs), and a few can reach deformations on a par with strains observed in natural muscles. Sensitivity to temperature and humidity, as well as the slow response times of acrylates, limit the commercialisation of these actuators. In this work, we developed a spring-roll actuator using commercial silicone DEs because they allow for a broader range of processing temperature and rapid response. Electrodes were deposited on a pre-strained DE film, coated with functional organosilicone polymer composite, and rolled around a metal spring. The coating enhanced the interfacial adhesion between DE and compliant electrodes, preserving the integrity and electro-mechanical properties of the fabricated spring-roll actuator. As to performance, the silicone-based spring-roll actuator could bear 200 times its own weight and displace it by 6% at the applied electric field of 90 V/µm.

Food Freshness Measurements and Product Distinguishing by a Portable Electronic Nose Based on Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

Determination of food freshness, which is the most ancient role of the human sense of smell, is still a challenge for compact and inexpensive electronic nose devices. Fast, sensitive, and reusable sensors are long-awaited in the food industry to replace slow, labor-intensive, and expensive bacteriological methods. In this work, we present microbiological verification of a novel approach to food quality monitoring and spoilage detection using an electronic nose based on organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and its application for distinguishing products. The compact device presented is able to detect spoilage-related gases as early as at the 4 × 104 CFU g-1 bacteria count level, which is 2 orders of magnitude below the safe consumption threshold. Cross-selective sensor array based on OFETs with metalloporphyrin receptors were made on a single substrate using solution processing leading to a low production cost. Moreover, machine learning methods applied to the sensor array response allowed us to compare spoilage profiles and separate them by the type of food: pork, chicken, fish, or milk. The approach presented can be used to monitor food spoilage and distinguish different products with an affordable and portable device.

Biorecognition Layer Based On Biotin-Containing [1]Benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene Derivative for Biosensing by Electrolyte-Gated Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

Requirements of speed and simplicity in testing stimulate the development of modern biosensors. Electrolyte-gated organic field-effect transistors (EGOFETs) are a promising platform for ultrasensitive, fast, and reliable detection of biological molecules for low-cost, point-of-care bioelectronic sensing. Biosensitivity of the EGOFET devices can be achieved by modification with receptors of one of the electronic active interfaces of the transistor gate or organic semiconductor surface. Functionalization of the latter gives the advantage in the creation of a planar architecture and compact devices for lab-on-chip design. Herein, we propose a universal, fast, and simple technique based on doctor blading and Langmuir-Schaefer methods for functionalization of the semiconducting surface of C8-BTBT-C8, allowing the fabrication of a large-scale biorecognition layer based on the novel functional derivative of BTBT-containing biotin fragments as a foundation for further biomodification. The fabricated devices are very efficient and operate stably in phosphate-buffered saline solution with high reproducibility of electrical properties in the EGOFET regime. The development of biorecognition properties of the proposed biolayer is based on the streptavidin-biotin interactions between the consecutive layers and can be used for a wide variety of receptors. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate the specific response of the BTBT-based biorecognition layer in EGOFETs to influenza A virus (H7N1 strain). The elaborated approach to biorecognition layer formation is appropriate but not limited to aptamer-based receptor molecules and can be further applied for fabricating several biosensors for various analytes on one substrate and paves the way for "electronic tongue" creation.

Fully integrated ultra-sensitive electronic nose based on organic field-effect transistors.

Modern solid-state gas sensors approaching ppb-level limit of detection open new perspectives for process control, environmental monitoring and exhaled breath analysis. Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are especially promising for gas sensing due to their outstanding sensitivities, low cost and small power consumption. However, they suffer of poor selectivity, requiring development of cross-selective arrays to distinguish analytes, and environmental instability, especially in humid air. Here we present the first fully integrated OFET-based electronic nose with the whole sensor array located on a single substrate. It features down to 30 ppb limit of detection provided by monolayer thick active layers and operates in air with up to 95% relative humidity. By means of principal component analysis, it is able to discriminate toxic air pollutants and monitor meat product freshness. The approach presented paves the way for developing affordable air sensing networks for the Internet of Things.

Highly Sensitive Air-Stable Easily Processable Gas Sensors Based on Langmuir-Schaefer Monolayer Organic Field-Effect Transistors for Multiparametric H2S and NH3 Real-Time Detection.

A combination of low limit of detection, low power consumption, and portability makes organic field-effect transistor (OFET) chemical sensors promising for various applications in the areas of industrial safety control, food spoilage detection, and medical diagnostics. However, the OFET sensors typically lack air stability and restoration capability at room temperature. Here, we report on a new design of highly sensitive gas sensors based on Langmuir-Schaefer monolayer organic field-effect transistors (LS OFETs) prepared from organosilicon derivative of [1]benzothieno[3,2- b][1]-benzothiophene. The devices fabricated are able to operate in air and allow an ultrafast detection of different analytes at low concentrations down to tens of parts per billion. The sensors are reusable and can be utilized in real-time air-quality monitoring systems. We show that a direct current response of the LS OFET can be split into the alteration of various transistor parameters, responsible for the interactions with different toxic gases. The sensor response acquiring approach developed allows distinguishing two different gases, H2S and NH3, with a single sensing device. The results reported open new perspectives for the OFET-based gas-sensing technology and pave the way for easy detection of the other types of gases, enabling the development of complex air analysis systems based on a single sensor.

Luminescent Organic Semiconducting Langmuir Monolayers.

In recent years, monolayer organic field-effect devices such as transistors and sensors have demonstrated their high potential. In contrast, monolayer electroluminescent organic field-effect devices are still in their infancy. One of the key challenges here is to create an organic material that self-organizes in a monolayer and combines efficient charge transport with luminescence. Herein, we report a novel organosilicon derivative of oligothiophene-phenylene dimer D2-Und-PTTP-TMS (D2, tetramethyldisiloxane; Und, undecylenic spacer; P, 1,4-phenylene; T, 2,5-thiophene; TMS, trimethylsilyl) that meets these requirements. The self-assembled Langmuir monolayers of the dimer were investigated by steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray reflectometry, and grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, and their semiconducting properties were evaluated in organic field-effect transistors. We found that the best uniform, fully covered, highly ordered monolayers were semiconducting. Thus, the ordered two-dimensional (2D) packing of conjugated organic molecules in the semiconducting Langmuir monolayer is compatible with its high-yield luminescence, so that 2D molecular aggregation per se does not preclude highly luminescent properties. Our findings pave the way to the rational design of functional materials for monolayer organic light-emitting transistors and other optoelectronic devices.

Polymer Surface Engineering for Efficient Printing of Highly Conductive Metal Nanoparticle Inks.

An approach to polymer surface modification using self-assembled layers (SALs) of functional alkoxysilanes has been developed in order to improve the printability of silver nanoparticle inks and enhance adhesion between the metal conducting layer and the flexible polymer substrate. The SALs have been fully characterized by AFM, XPS, and WCA, and the resulting printability, adhesion, and electrical conductivity of the screen-printed metal contacts have been estimated by cross-cut tape test and 4-point probe measurements. It was shown that (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane SALs enable significant adhesion improvements for both aqueous- and organic-based silver inks, approaching nearly 100% for PEN and PDMS substrates while exhibiting relatively low sheet resistance up to 0.1 Ω/sq. It was demonstrated that SALs containing functional -SH or -NH2 end groups offer the opportunity to increase the affinity of the polymer substrates to silver inks and thus to achieve efficient patterning of highly conductive structures on flexible and stretchable substrates.

Easily processable highly ordered Langmuir-Blodgett films of quaterthiophene disiloxane dimer for monolayer organic field-effect transistors.

Self-assembly of highly soluble water-stable tetramethyldisiloxane-based dimer of α,α'-dialkylquaterthiophene on the water-air interface was investigated by Langmuir, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, and X-ray reflectivity techniques. The conditions for formation of very homogeneous crystalline monolayer Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of the oligomer were found. Monolayer organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on these LB films as a semiconducting layer showed hole mobilities up to 3 × 10(-3) cm(2)/(V s), on-off ratio of 10(5), small hysteresis, and high long-term stability. The electrical performance of the LB films studied is close to that for the same material in the bulk or in the monolayer OFETs prepared from water vapor sensitive chlorosilyl derivatives of quaterthiophene by self-assembling from solution. These findings show high potential of disiloxane-based LB films in monolayer OFETs for large-area organic electronics.

Formation of self-assembled organosilicon-functionalized quinquethiophene monolayers by fast processing techniques.

Different techniques for a relatively fast self-assembled monolayer film formation such as Langmuir-Blodgett (LB), spin-coating, and dip-coating methods have been compared using chloro[11-(5''''-ethyl-2,2':5',2″:5''',2''':5''',2''''-quinquethiophene-5-yl)undecyl]dimethylsilane as a reactive precursor. It was shown that both spin-coating and LB techniques are very promising methods for preparation of highly ordered monolayer films of organosilicon-functionalized quinquethiophene with vertical orientation of oligothiophene fragments, while dip-coating gives only partial coverage. Optimal conditions for complete filling out the substrate surface by the quinquethiophene-containing monolayer by spin-coating and LB methods have been found. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurements confirmed formation of in-plane crystalline order within the monolayer film. Changes in the layer structure were established by X-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction methods.

Order and dynamics of a liquid crystalline dendrimer by means of 2H NMR spectroscopy.

A complete Deuterium NMR study performed on partially deuterated liquid crystalline carbosilane dendrimer is here reported. The dendrimer under investigation shows a SmA phase in a large temperature range from 381 to 293 K, and its mesophasic properties have been previously determined. However, in this work the occurrence of a biphasic region between the isotropic and SmA phases has been put in evidence. The orientational order of the dendrimer, labeled on its lateral mesogenic units, is here evaluated in the whole temperature range by means of (2)H NMR, revealing a peculiar trend at low temperatures (T < 326 K). This aspect has been further investigated by a detailed analysis of the (2)H NMR spectral features, such as the quadrupolar splitting, the line shape, and the line-width, as a function of temperature. In the context of a detailed NMR analysis, relaxation times (T(1) and T(2)) have also been measured, pointing out a slowing down of the dynamics by decreasing the temperature, which determines from one side the spectral changes observed in the NMR spectra, on the other the observation of a minimum in the T(1).

Liquid crystal codendrimers with a statistical distribution of phenolic and mesogenic groups: behavior as Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett films.

The first series of carbosilane liquid crystal codendrimers with groups of different polarity has been synthesized. The chemical structure of the newly synthesized materials and the composition of the codendrimers were studied by NMR spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF MS. It was found that the codendrimers tend to form stable Langmuir films at the air-water surface. The influence of composition and generation number on surface pressure-surface area isotherms and film stability was studied. Brewster angle microscopy confirmed the different phase behavior for monolayers of different codendrimer composition and generation number. It was found that side groups of fifth-generation codendrimers do not segregate, unlike those of lower generations. Langmuir-Blodgett films on solid substrates were obtained by the vertical dipping method. X-ray diffraction showed that the codendrimers with 75% of hydrophobic mesogenic terminal groups formed ordered layers parallel to the substrate.