Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Metallic charge transport of field-induced carriers can be observed in single-crystal silicon over a wide temperature range. Such behaviour is rare in undoped organic semiconductors but is beneficial for engineering devices with advanced performance. Here we report metallic charge transport in conjugated molecular bilayers down to 8 K with an electrical conductivity of up to 245 S cm −1 and a Hall mobility larger than 100 cm 2 V −1 s −1 at 20 K. We use molecular-crystal bilayers of the organic semiconductor 2-decyl-7-phenyl-[1]benzothieno[3,2- b ][1]benzothiophene. We infer that this transport behaviour originates from the phenyl bridge coupling between the two molecular layers, which suppresses molecular vibrations and weakens Coulomb interactions. We develop a controlled method for introducing defects, using which we observe a disorder-driven metal–insulator transition in the molecular crystal.
Source: Nature Electronics
Authors: Kuakua Lu, Yun Li, Yun Li, Qijing Wang, Linlu Wu, Xinglong Ren, Xu Chen, Luhao Liu, Yating Li, Yating Li, Xiaoming Xu, Qingkai Zhang, Di Wang, Liqi Zhou, Mingfei Xiao, Sai Jiang, Mengjiao Pei, Haoxin Gong, William Wood, Ian E. Jacobs, Junzhan Wang, Gang Chen, Peng Wang, Zhaosheng Li, Chunfeng Zhang, Xinran Wang, Xu Wu, Yeliang Wang, Wei Ji, Songlin Li, Jingsi Qiao, Yi Shi, Henning Sirringhaus
Institutions: Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University, University of Cambridge, Liaoning Academy of Materials, Renmin University of China, Shanghai University, Changzhou University, ShanghaiTech University, University of Warwick, Beijing Institute of Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $12,690
Funders: Royal Society, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Government of Jiangsu Province, Renmin University of China, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing University, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, National Key Research and Development Program of China, H2020 European Research Council
Awards: G1260032182, G1286284911, G1314719211, G132519424, G1488892325, G175724308, G1943929174, Nanoscale characterisation and decoupling of charge and heat transport across interfaces in novel, molecular thermoelectric materials, G3202350672, G4032244877, G4137521004, G4325260170, Harnessing vibration-induced enhancement of transport in functional materials with soft structural dynamics, G7294486860
OpenAlex ID: W7124994619