📣 Try out the NEW Gateway to Research and let us know what you think.

We're looking for users to test the new service during August and September and share their feedback. Express your interest by completing this short form.

Green Horizon on Organic Semiconductor Technologies

Lead Research Organisation: DURHAM UNIVERSITY

Abstract

The Green Deal has made it necessary to develop low power electronics, using sustainable materials and green processing. The successful implementation of AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes) displays in mobile phones, organic-based electronics illustrates that the Green Deal is possible. However, current organic electronics technologies have yet to be efficiency and not all are produced via low embedded energy processing methods. By using bio inspired organic materials deposited by green process technologies achieving these goals could be realised. During project GHOST, we will focus on inter molecular interactions to help address these issues. Irrespective of application; AMOLED, Organic PhotoVoltaics (OPV), Organic Field-Effect Transistors (OFET) or Organic Thermoelectric Generators (OTG), the active materials are used in a solid matrix that stabilises them but also changes their properties relative to those in solution. There are many examples where guest-host interactions, e.g. donor-acceptor materials in OPV devices, completely change the properties of the system. Using light-emitting guests blended in a host or donor-acceptor exciplex systems leads to increasing OLED emission efficiency. But how to control these interactions is not well understood and is still largely emipirical. Interactions can change both the molecule conformation and electro-optic properties of the materials, but theoretical approaches to understanding these mechanisms are still in their infancy. Moreover, the varried effects of such intermolecular interactions in working devices is very poorly understood. Currently our limited understanding of these phenomena limit our ability to develop bio inspired materials and active components. All life on earth is organic and can perform complex of functions. Taking inspiration from living organisims, we aim to develop a new low energy organic electronics technologies.

Publications

10 25 50
publication icon
Da Silva F (2026) A columnar molecular glass at high temperature in Journal of Materials Chemistry C

publication icon
De Campos F (2025) Columnar liquid crystal as alignable host for perylene-based emitters in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics

publication icon
De Oliveira W (2025) Trinaphthyl-triazines: towards persistent room temperature columnar mesomorphic matrices in Journal of Materials Chemistry C

publication icon
Sérgio Dos Santos G (2025) Delayed Fluorescence and Room Temperature Phosphorescence from a Liquid Arene. in Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)

 
Description Secondments from Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) 
Organisation Federal University of Santa Catarina
Country Brazil 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The Durham team have taught members from the Departments of Physics and Chemistry, UFSC, a range of time resolved spectroscopic techniques which they have used in collaboration with the Durham team to characterise the optical properties of new liquid crystal materials, synthesised between UFSC and the CNRS Bordeaux France. This has lead to 4 research papers being published already and a further 4 in progress.
Collaborator Contribution The teams from UFSC and CNRS Bordeaux have synthesised new materials to be characterised using the first optical spectroscopy results obtained in Durham. Prof Monkman has spent one secondment in CNRS Bordeaux to learn about liquid crystal film formation and potential ways to created doped liquid crystal films. He has also spent 4 secondments in UFSC, teaching students spectroscopic characterisation and making highly ordered liquid crystal films to characterise back in Durham.
Impact List of publications provided separately. Durham has trained two PhD students from UFSC and one faculty member in a range of time resolved spectroscopic techniques.
Start Year 2025
 
Description Secondments from Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) 
Organisation National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS)
Department Bordeaux
Country France 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution The Durham team have taught members from the Departments of Physics and Chemistry, UFSC, a range of time resolved spectroscopic techniques which they have used in collaboration with the Durham team to characterise the optical properties of new liquid crystal materials, synthesised between UFSC and the CNRS Bordeaux France. This has lead to 4 research papers being published already and a further 4 in progress.
Collaborator Contribution The teams from UFSC and CNRS Bordeaux have synthesised new materials to be characterised using the first optical spectroscopy results obtained in Durham. Prof Monkman has spent one secondment in CNRS Bordeaux to learn about liquid crystal film formation and potential ways to created doped liquid crystal films. He has also spent 4 secondments in UFSC, teaching students spectroscopic characterisation and making highly ordered liquid crystal films to characterise back in Durham.
Impact List of publications provided separately. Durham has trained two PhD students from UFSC and one faculty member in a range of time resolved spectroscopic techniques.
Start Year 2025