Soft Organic Electronics Based on Graphene Electrodes

Graphene is considered as an excellent electrode material with a high transparency, good conductivity, and superior mechanical flexibility for use in next-generation flexible electronic devices, and at the same time as an attractive epitaxial template material for highly ordered organic crystal growth. The growth mode, morphology and the crystallographic structure of the organic semiconductors near the graphene-organic interface are strongly affected by various physicochemical characteristics of graphene, and they critically influence the performance of graphene-based organic electronic devices. In this talk I will discuss the challenges, opportunities, and our recent progresses in flexible organic electronics based on graphene electrodes. First, I will describe the growth behaviour of organic semiconductors on graphene electrodes, and their effects on the performances of organic transistors and photovoltaic cells. Then, I will introduce a new concept of using organic nanopatches to modify a CVD-grown graphene, which improved fracture strength without degrading any other supreme characteristics of graphene. With this mechanically strengthened graphene, robust and soft organic electronic devices were demonstrated.