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  • Review Article
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Interfaces in organic electronics

Nature Reviews Materials volume 4, pages 627–650 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Undoped, conjugated, organic molecules and polymers possess properties of semiconductors, including the electronic structure and charge transport, which can be readily tuned by chemical design. Moreover, organic semiconductors (OSs) can be n-doped or p-doped to become organic conductors and can exhibit mixed electronic and ionic conductivity. Compared with inorganic semiconductors and metals, organic (semi)conductors possess a unique feature: no insulating oxide forms on their surface when exposed to air. Thus, OSs form clean interfaces with many materials, including metals and other OSs. OS–metal and OS–OS interfaces have been intensely investigated over the past 30 years, from which a consistent theoretical description has emerged. Since the 2000s, increased attention has been paid to interfaces in organic electronics that involve dielectrics, electrolytes, ferroelectrics and even biological organisms. In this Review, we consider the central role of these interfaces in the function of organic electronic devices and discuss how the physico-chemical properties of the interfaces govern the interfacial transport of light, excitons, electrons and ions, as well as the transduction of electrons into the molecular language of cells.

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Fig. 1: Structure of organic semiconductors.
Fig. 2: Interfaces in organic electronic devices.
Fig. 3: Organic semiconductor–metal interfaces.
Fig. 4: Multilayer organic semiconductor interfaces.
Fig. 5: Dipole potential steps at organic semiconductor–organic semiconductor interfaces.
Fig. 6: Organic semiconductor–dielectric interfaces.
Fig. 7: Organic semiconductor–electrolyte interfaces.
Fig. 8: Electrochemical processes in organic semiconductors
Fig. 9: Communication between biological organisms and organic electronics.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO Mat LiU No. 2009 00971), the Wallenberg Wood Science Center, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, Vinnova (Digital Cellulose Center and Treesearch) and the Swedish Research Council.

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  1. Laboratory of Organic Electronics, ITN, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden

    Mats Fahlman, Simone Fabiano, Viktor Gueskine, Daniel Simon, Magnus Berggren & Xavier Crispin

  2. Wallenberg Wood Science Center, ITN, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden

    Magnus Berggren & Xavier Crispin

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  1. Mats Fahlman
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Fahlman, M., Fabiano, S., Gueskine, V. et al. Interfaces in organic electronics. Nat Rev Mater 4, 627–650 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-019-0127-y

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