In a nanotechnology breakthrough, University of Pittsburgh researchers have found that in certain instances, organic or carbon-based molecules conduct electricity as well as metal.
The finding, published in the April 18th edition of Science, is a breakthrough in developing nanotechnology that provides a new strategy for designing electronic materials, including inexpensive and multifunctional organic conductors that have long been considered the key to smaller, cheaper and faster technologies.
The Pitt team, lead by Hrvoje Petek, codirector of Pitt’s Petersen Institute for NanoScience and Engineering, found that the hollow, soccer-ball-shaped carbon molecules, called fullerenes, can hold and transfer an electrical charge like the most highly conductive atoms.
The work provides a new perspective on what determines the electronic properties of materials, says Petek. This will open the door to developing novel materials with electronic and chemical properties that can be tailored by shape and size.
"Metal-like behavior in a molecular material is highly surprising and desirable in the emerging field of molecular electronics," notes Petek. “It’s still in a very early stage. Because materials can be synthesized to conduct electricity, we may someday develop small screen televisions with crystal displays that work more efficiently with less material. There are very practical applications.”
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Hrvoje Petek, University of Pittsburgh