An R&D project at James Cook University is fabricating organic thin-films using Australian essential oils more likely to be found in personal care products.
The Electronic Material Research Group at the Queensland-based university has tested pinene from pine resin, limonene from citrus peel and tea tree oil for their suitability for polymerisation as semiconducting membranes.
The project has garnered support from Rural Industries Research & Development. Mohan Jacob, head of the Electronic Material Research Group, is leading the project.
To create the membranes, Jacob's group designed a plasma polymerisation process to create uniform organic polymer thin-films. Their structure can be altered by changing a range of deposition parameters.
Biomedicine
During the group's experiments the cheaper types of pine and citrus oils produced membranes under the most ideal laboratory conditions, though their surface was too rough.
However the polymer thin-films derived from tea tree oil yielded membranes, which Jacob describes as 'smooth as glass'. The group will focus on developing these materials further for organic thin-film devices. Potential applications include in the biomedical field, which would benefit from new types of carbon-based electronic devices for sensing, diagnostics and other applications.
The natural organic electronic materials in development could also be used to produce OLEDs, organic thin-film transistors and organic photodetectors.
The work by the group is one of a handful of examples of R&D focused on developing renewable polymer materials with electrical properties, for use in the fabrication of organic and printed electronics devices. Other instances include work by researchers in Europe to develop an RFID chip from biodegradable semiconducting polymers.
+Plastic Electronics magazine provides exclusive, high-value content for the printed, plastic and organic electronics industry. To sign up for your copy immediately, click the link below, contact publications@pira-international.com or visit our subscriptions page.
Documents and links
-
Subscribe to +Plastic Electronics magazine
Subscribe to +Plastic Electronics magazine, published six times a year, for just £100/€110/$160. Find out more here
External Link
-
James Cook University
The Australian university is researching materials for organic polymer thin-films
External Link
-
Organic electronics developed for multi-detection diagnostic device
A new European-funded project is bringing together organic electronics and medical testing to create a multi-detection, single-use device
External Link
-
Point-of-care devices: the next generation of healthcare
Biosensors used in cheap, diagnostic devices are one of the biggest development areas for electronics in the healthcare sector. +PE.com asked industry experts how this sector was developing
External Link