An Evolvable Organic Electrochemical Transistor for Neuromorphic Applications.

An evolvable organic electrochemical transistor (OECT), operating in the hybrid accumulation-depletion mode is reported, which exhibits short-term and long-term memory functionalities. The transistor channel, formed by an electropolymerized conducting polymer, can be formed, modulated, and obliterated in situ and under operation. Enduring changes in channel conductance, analogous to long-term potentiation and depression, are attained by electropolymerization and electrochemical overoxidation of the channel material, respectively.

General Observation of Photocatalytic Oxygen Reduction to Hydrogen Peroxide by Organic Semiconductor Thin Films and Colloidal Crystals.

Low-cost semiconductor photocatalysts offer unique possibilities for industrial chemical transformations and energy conversion applications. We report that a range of organic semiconductors are capable of efficient photocatalytic oxygen reduction to HO in aqueous conditions. These semiconductors, in the form of thin films, support a 2-electron/2-proton redox cycle involving photoreduction of dissolved O to HO, with the concurrent photooxidation of organic substrates: formate, oxalate, and phenol.

Morphology of a self-doped conducting oligomer for green energy applications.

A recently synthesized self-doped conducting oligomer, salt of bis[3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene]3thiophene butyric acid, ETE-S, is a novel promising material for green energy applications. Recently, it has been demonstrated that it can polymerize in vivo, in plant systems, leading to a formation of long-range conducting wires, charge storage and supercapacitive behaviour of living plants. Here we investigate the morphology of ETE-S combining the experimental characterisation using Grazing Incidence Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (GIWAXS) and atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

Regulating plant physiology with organic electronics.

The organic electronic ion pump (OEIP) provides flow-free and accurate delivery of small signaling compounds at high spatiotemporal resolution. To date, the application of OEIPs has been limited to delivery of nonaromatic molecules to mammalian systems, particularly for neuroscience applications. However, many long-standing questions in plant biology remain unanswered due to a lack of technology that precisely delivers plant hormones, based on cyclic alkanes or aromatic structures, to regulate plant physiology.

Highly Stable Conjugated Polyelectrolytes for Water-Based Hybrid Mode Electrochemical Transistors.

Hydrophobic, self-doped conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) are introduced as highly stable active materials for organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). The hydrophobicity of CPEs renders films very stable in aqueous solutions. The devices operate at gate voltages around zero and show no signs of degradation when operated for 10 cycles under ambient conditions.

Machine-Washable PEDOT:PSS Dyed Silk Yarns for Electronic Textiles.

Durable, electrically conducting yarns are a critical component of electronic textiles (e-textiles). Here, such yarns with exceptional wear and wash resistance are realized through dyeing silk from the silkworm Bombyx mori with the conjugated polymer:polyelectrolyte complex PEDOT:PSS. A high Young's modulus of approximately 2 GPa combined with a robust and scalable dyeing process results in up to 40 m long yarns that maintain their bulk electrical conductivity of approximately 14 S cm when experiencing repeated bending stress as well as mechanical wear during sewing.

In vivo polymerization and manufacturing of wires and supercapacitors in plants.

Electronic plants, -Plants, are an organic bioelectronic platform that allows electronic interfacing with plants. Recently we have demonstrated plants with augmented electronic functionality. Using the vascular system and organs of a plant, we manufactured organic electronic devices and circuits in vivo, leveraging the internal structure and physiology of the plant as the template, and an integral part of the devices.

Acido-basic control of the thermoelectric properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)tosylate (PEDOT-Tos) thin films.

PEDOT-Tos is one of the conducting polymers that displays the most promising thermoelectric properties. Until now, it has been utterly difficult to control all the synthesis parameters and the morphology governing the thermoelectric properties. To improve our understanding of this material, we study the variation in the thermoelectric properties by a simple acido-basic treatment.

Thermoelectric Polymers and their Elastic Aerogels.

Electronically conducting polymers constitute an emerging class of materials for novel electronics, such as printed electronics and flexible electronics. Their properties have been further diversified to introduce elasticity, which has opened new possibility for "stretchable" electronics. Recent discoveries demonstrate that conducting polymers have thermoelectric properties with a low thermal conductivity, as well as tunable Seebeck coefficients - which is achieved by modulating their electrical conductivity via simple redox reactions.

Electronic plants.

The roots, stems, leaves, and vascular circuitry of higher plants are responsible for conveying the chemical signals that regulate growth and functions. From a certain perspective, these features are analogous to the contacts, interconnections, devices, and wires of discrete and integrated electronic circuits. Although many attempts have been made to augment plant function with electroactive materials, plants' "circuitry" has never been directly merged with electronics.

Electronic control over detachment of a self-doped water-soluble conjugated polyelectrolyte.

Water-soluble conducting polymers are of interest to enable more versatile processing in aqueous media as well as to facilitate interactions with biomolecules. Here, we report a substituted poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) derivative (PEDOT-S:H) that is fully water-soluble and self-doped. When electrochemically oxidizing a PEDOT-S:H thin film, the film detaches from the underlying electrode.

Electronic polymers and DNA self-assembled in nanowire transistors.

Aqueous self-assembly of DNA and molecular electronic materials can lead to the creation of innumerable copies of identical devices, and inherently programmed complex nanocircuits. Here self-assembly of a water soluble and highly conducting polymer PEDOT-S with DNA in aqueous conditions is shown. Orientation and assembly of the conducting DNA/PEDOT-S complex into electrochemical DNA nanowire transistors is demonstrated.