Electrolytical Entrapment of Organic Molecules within Metals

An electrolytical method is presented for the doping of metal with organic molecules (0.1−1% by weight). Several representative organic molecules, including dyes and polymers, have been entrapped in copper or silver using this procedure. The resulting doped metals have been characterized using TGA, UV−vis, SEM, EDS, and XRD. The dynamics of dye extraction from composites has been modeled, offering a means to quantify the leaching behavior of organics@metals. Typically, entrapped molecules are shown to be heterogeneously distributed within the composites, including a population which is entrapped tighter than with nonelectrolytic methods

Effect of Doping Density on the Charge Rearrangement and Interface Dipole at the Molecule–Silicon Interface

The interface level alignment of alkyl and alkenyl monolayers, covalently bound to oxide-free Si substrates of various doping levels, is studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Using shifts in the C 1s and Si 2p photoelectron peaks as a sensitive probe, we find that charge distribution around the covalent Si–C bond dipole changes according to the initial position of the Fermi level within the Si substrate. This shows that the interface dipole is not fixed but rather changes with the doping level. These results set limits to the applicability of simple models to describe level alignment at interfaces and show that the interface bond and dipole may change according to the electrostatic potential at the interface

Role of Backbone Charge Rearrangement in the Bond-Dipole and Work Function of Molecular Monolayers

Self-assembled organic monolayers serve for modifying the work function of inorganic substrates. We examine the role of the molecular backbone in determining monolayer-adsorbed work function, by considering the adsorption of dithiols with either a partially conjugated or a saturated backbone on the GaAs(001) surface. Using a combination of chemically resolved electrical measurements based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact potential difference, together with first principles electronic structure calculations, we are able to distinguish quantitatively between the contributions of the band bending and surface dipole components. We find that the substrates coated by partially conjugated layers possess a larger band-bending, relative to that of the substrates coated by saturated layers. This is associated with an increased density of surface states, likely related to the presence of oxygen. At the same time, the samples coated by partially conjugated layers also possess a larger bond-dipole, with the difference found to result primarily from an extended charge rearrangement on the molecular backbone. The two effects are, in this case, of opposite sign, but a significant net change in work function is still found. Thus, design of the molecular backbone emerges as an additional and important degree of freedom in the design of potential profiles and charge injection barriers in monolayer-based structures and devices

Air-Stable Room-Temperature Mid-Infrared Photodetectors Based on hBN/Black Arsenic Phosphorus/hBN Heterostructures

Layered black phosphorus (BP) has attracted wide attention for mid-infrared photonics and high-speed electronics, due to its moderate band gap and high carrier mobility. However, its intrinsic band gap of around 0.33 electronvolt limits the operational wavelength range of BP photonic devices based on direct interband transitions to around 3.7 μm. In this work, we demonstrate that black arsenic phosphorus alloy (b-AsxP1–x) formed by introducing arsenic into BP can significantly extend the operational wavelength range of photonic devices. The as-fabricated b-As0.83P0.17 photodetector sandwiched within hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) shows peak extrinsic responsivity of 190, 16, and 1.2 mA/W at 3.4, 5.0, and 7.7 μm at room temperature, respectively. Moreover, the intrinsic photoconductive effect dominates the photocurrent generation mechanism due to the preservation of pristine properties of b-As0.83P0.17 by complete hBN encapsulation, and these b-As0.83P0.17 photodetectors exhibit negligible transport hysteresis. The broad and large photoresponsivity within mid-infrared resulting from the intrinsic photoconduction, together with the excellent long-term air stability, makes b-As0.83P0.17 alloy a promising alternative material for mid-infrared applications, such as free-space communication, infrared imaging, and biomedical sensing