Metastable Copper-Phthalocyanine Single-Crystal Nanowires and Their Use in Fabricating High-Performance Field-Effect Transistors

Abstract

This paper describes a simple, vapor-phase route to the synthesis of metastable α-phase copper-phthalocyanine (CuPc) single-crystal nanowires through control of the growth temperature. The influence of the growth temperature on the crystal structures, morphology, and size of the CuPc nanostructures was explored by XRD, optical absorption and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). α-CuPc nanowires were successfully incorporated as active semiconductors in field-effect transistors (FETs). Single nanowire devices exhibited the carrier mobilities and current on/off ratios as high as 0.4 cm2/Vs and > 104, respectively, rendering them useful for organic photovoltaic cells, organic light-emitting diodes, field-effect transistors, memories and gas sensors