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Synthetic Metals

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A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2016) | Viewed by 41577

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Bruno Schmaltz

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Guest Editor

Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie des Matériaux et des Electrolytes pour l'Energie (PCM2E), EA 6699, UFR Sciences et Techniques, Parc de Grandmont, 37200 TOURS, France
Interests: organic semiconductors; polymer synthesis; synthetic organic chemistry; molecular designing; electronic materials; hybrid solar cells; thermoelectricity; electrochromic material; supercapacitors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleages, In present-day society, how could we live without our cellphone, tablet, or TV set? The discovery of doped polyacetylene in 1976, and the Nobel Prize awarded to A. Heeger, A. Mc Diarmid, and H. Shirakawa in 2000 showed the wide possibilities of the use of these semiconductors. These molecules or macromolecules, which have chemical structures of alternating single and double bonds, can be considered as synthetic metals. Their specific properties, such as charge carrier mobility or thermal or electrical conductivity, are now used in a wide range of applications. One of the most interesting families of applications is “plastic electronics”, which is the gathering together of new technologies dealing with light, flexible, and cheap electronics. Even if organic semiconductors, small molecules, or polymers, are already part of commercially available technologies, such as organic light emitting diodes, organic thin film transistors, or organic photovoltaic devices, there are still challenges that need to be faced. The development of these synthetic metals as active material, include their design, their synthesis, their deposition techniques, their nanoscale organization in order to fine-tune electronic, thermal, or mechanical properties, and their performances in devices. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide the most recent advances in the fundamental chemistry and the development of new organic semiconductors for “plastic electronic” applications. Papers and review articles dealing with organic pi-conjugated materials are invited for this Special Issue on “synthetic metals”. Dr. Bruno SchmaltzGuest Editor

Keywords

organic semiconductors pi-conjugated materials electronic devices energy conversion energy storage charge transport morphology nanomaterials functional materials hybrid materials charge transfer nanocomposites

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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852 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preparation and Characteristics of γ-Fe₂O₃/Polyaniline-Curcumin Composites

by Yongli Li, Chunxia Zhu and Jinqing Kan

Metals 2015, 5(4), 2401-2412; https://doi.org/10.3390/met5042401 - 17 Dec 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4910

Abstract

Superparamagnetic nanomaterials are showing great prospects in medical treatments with targeting medicines. A new conductive superparamagnetic nanocomposite, γ-Fe₂O₃/polyaniline-curcumin (γ-Fe₂O₃/PANI-curcumin), was prepared by using the interaction between an amino group in polyaniline and a ketone group in curcumin. The γ-Fe₂O₃/PANI-curcumin nanocomposite showed superparamagnetism (30 emu·g⁻¹) and electrochemical activity, based on the results of magnetization curve and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Transmission electron microscope (TEM) indicated that the particle size of γ-Fe₂O₃/PANI-curcumin was between 10 and 50 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the γ-Fe₂O₃/PANI-curcumin nanocomposite, confirming that curcumin was immobilized into the γ-Fe₂O₃/PANI chain. This study provided an academic foundation for developing a new material for immobilizing an anticancer drug. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthetic Metals)

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807 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Characterization of 4-Benzyloxybenzaldehyde-4-methyl-3-thiosemicarbazone (Containing Sulphur and Nitrogen Donor Atoms) and Its Cd(II) Complex

by Lakshmi Narayana Suvarapu and Sung-Ok Baek

Metals 2015, 5(4), 2266-2276; https://doi.org/10.3390/met5042266 - 01 Dec 2015

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5142

Abstract

A chelating agent, 4-benzyloxybenzaldehyde-4-methyl-3-thiosemicarbazone (BBMTSC), containing sulphur and nitrogen donor atoms was synthesized and applied as a ligand for the chelation of Cd(II). Both the BBMTSC and its Cd(II) complex were characterized by elemental analysis, UV-Vis absorption spectra, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), mass spectra, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The FTIR spectra confirmed the formation of both BBMTSC and its Cd(II) complex. XRD revealed the polycrystalline nature of the synthesized compounds. BBMTSC exhibited a flake-like micro-rod morphology, whereas the Cd(II) complex had a flower-like nanorod structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthetic Metals)

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Review

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10656 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

π-Conjugated Materials as the Hole-Transporting Layer in Perovskite Solar Cells

by Alexandre Gheno, Sylvain Vedraine, Bernard Ratier and Johann Bouclé

Metals 2016, 6(1), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/met6010021 - 12 Jan 2016

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 13238

Abstract

Hybrid organometal halide perovskites have attracted much attention these past four years as the new active layer for photovoltaic applications. Researches are now intensively focused on the stability issues of these solar cells, the process of fabrication and the design of innovative materials to produce efficient perovskite devices. In this review, we highlight the recent progress demonstrated in 2015 in the design of new π-conjugated organic materials used as hole transporters in such solar cells. Indeed, several of these “synthetic metals” have been proposed to play this role during the last few years, in an attempt to replace the conventional 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis-(N,N-di-4-methoxyphenylamino)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD) reference. Organic compounds have the benefits of low production costs and the abundance of raw materials, but they are also crucial components in order to address some of the stability issues usually encountered by this type of technology. We especially point out the main design rules to reach high efficiencies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthetic Metals)

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322 KiB

Open AccessReview

Gas Sensors Based on Electrodeposited Polymers

by Boris Lakard, Stéphanie Carquigny, Olivier Segut, Tilia Patois and Sophie Lakard

Metals 2015, 5(3), 1371-1386; https://doi.org/10.3390/met5031371 - 29 Jul 2015

Cited by 60 | Viewed by 7379

Abstract

Electrochemically deposited polymers, also called “synthetic metals”, have emerged as potential candidates for chemical sensing due to their interesting and tunable chemical, electrical, and structural properties. In particular, most of these polymers (including polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene) and their derivatives can be used as the sensitive layer of conductimetric gas sensors because of their conducting properties. An important advantage of polymer-based gas sensors is their efficiency at room temperature. This characteristic is interesting since most of the commercially-available sensors, usually based on metal oxides, work at high temperatures (300–400 °C). Consequently, polymer-based gas sensors are playing a growing role in the improvement of public health and environment control because they can lead to gas sensors operating with rapid detection, high sensitivity, small size, and specificity in atmospheric conditions. In this review, the recent advances in electrodeposited polymer-based gas sensors are summarized and discussed. It is shown that the sensing characteristics of electrodeposited polymers can be improved by chemical functionalization, nanostructuration, or mixing with other functional materials to form composites or hybrid materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthetic Metals)

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409 KiB

Open AccessReview

Pyrrolyl Squaraines–Fifty Golden Years

by Daniel E. Lynch

Metals 2015, 5(3), 1349-1370; https://doi.org/10.3390/met5031349 - 27 Jul 2015

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 6691

Abstract

Pyrrolyl squaraines, both dyes and polymers, were first reported in 1965 and since then a fascinating body of work has been produced investigating the chemistry of these interesting molecules. A major aspect of these molecules that makes them so appealing to those researchers who have contributed to this field over the last 50 years is their chemical versatility. In this review, subjects, such as the synthetic history, an understanding of the molecular structure, an overview of the optical properties, a discussion of both the electrical conduction properties, and magnetic properties, plus use of the particles of pyrrolyl squaraines, are presented. Furthermore, previously published results are not just presented; they are in certain cases collated and used to both highlight and explain important aspects of pyrrolyl squaraine chemistry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthetic Metals)

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