UNTITLED KOREA PROJECT
VISUAL ART
-
SCIENCE
-
TECHNOLOGY
-
VISUAL ART - SCIENCE - TECHNOLOGY -
by William Neal
“We used a really unconventional imaging setup for these thin films which, I guess, makes this even more special!”
A description from William:
These are images of a novel organic semiconducting small molecule thin-films on a silicon/silicon oxide (Si/SiO2) substrate. These thin-films were deposited via bar-coating with coating speed, solution concentration and temperature controlled, resulting in a striking and unique crystalline morphology. These images were captured using a Samsung S7 camera, that was mounted to an optical microscope eyepiece.
These results were acquired from a collaborative project between Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), intending to encourage the sharing of experiences, cultures and scientific ideas. Researchers from QMUL, including myself and Peter Gilhooly-Finn, travelled to Gwangju, South Korea as part of the research collaboration.
The project investigated the electrical properties of a series of novel organic semiconducting small molecules synthesised by researchers at QMUL, which were deposited using advanced printing techniques developed by researchers at GIST. The novel materials were fabricated into organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), which have applications in biological sensing. Although the materials were found to not be suitable for OECTs, the resulting thin-films observed unique and striking crystalline morphologies.
“We didn’t realise we were going to get these interesting crystal patterns.”
What do the different morphologies and colours indicate?
So, these molecules can have different isomers, and the arrangement of different molecules can influence different properties.
There is a physicist called Dr Jess Wade who has images of organic semiconducting molecules for photovoltaics (materials that turn light into energy), used in solar panels. They look quite similar to these images.
And yeh, there are lots of colours going on. So these molecules, because they are semi conductors, they have alternating double and single bonds which is useful for transporting electrical charge through them. This feature also makes it good for absorbing light and emitting really interesting colours. It is 1 molecule producing these different colours, I’m not 100% sure what all the colours indicate! But it is so beautiful...
We didn’t realise we were going to get these interesting crystal patterns.
In the beginning all we were getting in the microscope were just black areas and then as we were darting around the lab, we could see crystals slowly forming in real time as the solution was cooling on the microscope! So the small molecules gradually arranged themselves and crystalised into the shapes.
The imaging methods using a phone camera and optical microscope eye piece seems very resourceful and sustainable. Is this something conventionally done in your field or could you tell us abit more about it?
This is really unconventional! Usually, we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We don’t usually prioritise the visual settings and rather focus more on the morphology. But, yeh, we used a really unconventional imaging setup for these thin films which, I guess, makes this even more special!
“It is 1 molecule producing all these different colours ... But it is so beautiful”
Could you also tell us abit more about the OECTs and their application in biological sensing?
OECTs are organic electrochemical transistors which are being developed to replace conventional transistors. Transistors are like an on/off switch which allows electrical signal to pass or not pass. It’s super important with like chips in our phones and modern technology in general. The idea is to replace them with organic transistors. It being organic provides properties like the ability to flex and bend.
Hopefully in 5-10 years we’ll be wearing watches that contain thousands of transistors that sense thousands of different things!
This black and white “chain mail”-like image potentially has some sort of chirality happening
So Will, how did you get into this field of work?
It was kind of by accident! I did a job after my bachelors for 2 years and realised I wanted to go back to uni to upgrade my skills. So I decided to do a masters in chemical research at Queen Mary’s. I got given a list of lots of research projects I could interview for and did so for a project on organic semiconducting polymers under Christian Nielson’s supervision.
It just sounded super interesting and loved the vibe of the group. The research area is also something I had no idea existed. Then half way through my masters, they were advertising a PhD project and I knew I really wanted to stay in the same discipline and invest my time in it. So, I applied and sort of fell into it.
Welcome WILL!
I feel incredibly excited and honoured to join STEAMUL8! Collaboration is essential for driving novel scientific discovery, and I think STEAMUL8’s mission of sharing beauty within science will aid in inspiring and encouraging future scientific interest and collaborative experiences.
