Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug 8;14(16):4444.
doi: 10.3390/ma14164444.

First Nanoparticles of a Conductor Based on the Organic Donor Molecule BETS: κ-(BETS)2FeCl4

Kane Jacob  1 , Christophe Faulmann  2 , Dominique de Caro  1 , Lydie Valade  1
Affiliations

First Nanoparticles of a Conductor Based on the Organic Donor Molecule BETS: κ-(BETS)2FeCl4

Kane Jacob et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Nanoparticles of the molecular superconductor (BETS)2FeCl4 were obtained by the electrochemical oxidation of BETS in the presence of [(C2H5)4N]FeCl4 and an amphiphilic imine (OATM), acting as a growth controlling agent. When the reaction was carried out with a molar ratio OATM/BETS of 10, roughly spherical nanoparticles exhibiting sizes in the 10-40 nm range were observed. X-ray diffraction patterns evidenced the growth of (BETS)2FeCl4 nanoparticles with the κ-type structure. The current-voltage characteristic recorded on an individual nanoparticle aggregate was fitted with a Shockley diode model. A saturation current of 1216 pA and a threshold voltage of 0.62 V were extracted from this model. This latter value was consistent with roughly half of the energy gap of the semiconducting nano-crystalline aggregate.

Keywords: amphiphilic imine; bis(ethylenedithio)tetraselenafulvalene BETS; electrocrystallization technique; molecular conductors; nanoparticles.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Formulas for BETS (left) and OATM (right).
Figure 2
Figure 2
X-ray diffraction pattern for κ-(BETS)2FeCl4: (a) simulated from single crystals; (b) nanoparticles grown in the presence of OATM (10 molar eq. vs. BETS).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Infrared spectrum for κ-(BETS)2FeCl4 nanoparticles grown in the presence of OATM.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Electron micrographs for κ-(BETS)2FeCl4 nanoparticles (left: 10 molar eq. of OATM vs. BETS, bar = 200 nm; right: 20 molar eq. of OATM vs. BETS, bar = 500 nm).
Figure 5
Figure 5
AFM topographic images for κ-(BETS)2FeCl4 nanoparticles: (a) 10 molar eq. of OATM vs. BETS, scan size: 5 × 5 μm2; (b) 20 molar eq. of OATM vs. BETS, scan size: 5 × 5 μm2. (c) Five selected nanoparticles (20 molar eq. of OATM vs. BETS) for size determination and (d) graph showing the line profile analysis where the Y axis is the height (diameter) of the nanoparticles and the X axis is the length of the line scanned by the tip.
Figure 6
Figure 6
I‒V characteristic for a nanoparticle aggregate prepared in the presence of 10 molar eq. of OATM vs. BETS and least-squares fit of the region corresponding to positive bias voltages.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hossick Schott J., Ward M.D. Snapshots of Crystal Growth: Nanoclusters of Organic Conductors on Au(111) Surfaces. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1994;116:6806–6811. doi: 10.1021/ja00094a039. - DOI
    1. Hillier A.C., Hossick Schott J., Ward M.D. Molecular nanoclusters as precursors to conducting thin films and crystals. Adv. Mater. 1995;7:409–413. doi: 10.1002/adma.19950070416. - DOI
    1. Losilla N.S., Oxtoby N.S., Martinez J., Garcia F., Garcia R., Mas-Torrent M., Veciana J., Rovira C. Sub-50 mm positioning of organic compounds onto silicon oxide patterns fabricated by local oxidation nanolithography. Nanotechnology. 2008;19:45308. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/19/45/455308. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jeszka J.K., Tracz A., Wostek D., Boiteux G., Kryszewski M. Preparation of ET2I3 nanocrystals. J. New Mat. Electrochem. Syst. 2001;4:149–153.
    1. Cui G., Xu W., Guo C., Xiao X., Xu H., Zhang D., Jiang L., Zhu D. Conducting Nanopearl Chains Based on the Dmit Salt. J. Phys. Chem. B. 2004;108:13638–13642. doi: 10.1021/jp048195a. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources