Fabrication and characterization of PEDOT nanowires based on self-assembled peptide nanotube lithography

Abstract

a b s t r a c tIn this article we demonstrate the use of self-assembled peptide nanotube structures as masking material in a rapid, mild and low cost fabrication of polymerized p-toluenesulfonate doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT:TsO) nanowire device. In this new fabrication approach the PEDOT:TsO nanowire avoids all contact with any organic solvents otherwise traditionally used in clean room fabrication. This can be achieved due to the intriguing properties of the self-assembled peptide nanotubes utilized as a dry etching mask for the patterning of the PEDOT:TsO nanowire. The peptide nanotubes, despite remaining stable during the reactive ion etching procedure, can be dissolved rapidly in water afterwards. The fabricated PEDOT:TsO nanowire devices exhibit excellent electrical characteristics. Finally, the potential of PEDOT:TsO nanowires as temperature sensors has been demonstrated and the high resolution of the sensor was illustrated.

Amyloid Fibrils as Building Blocks for Natural and Artificial Functional Materials

“…The templating process of conductive nanowires does not necessarily need to follow a wet‐chemistry approach. Andersen et al used a ion etching procedure using amyloid fibrils as dry ion etching masks to produce semiconductive nanowires of PEDOT doped by p‐toluenesulfonate with excellent electronic properties. By using this route, the solvent based chemistry associated with conventional lithography could be avoided.…”

Amyloid-based nanosensors and nanodevices

“…They looked into the electrical properties of FF nanotubes, 132 and explored applications, using FF nanotubes as etching material, 133 or for the fabrication of silicon wires 134 and as electrode material for biosensor development, in particular for the fabrication of PEDOT nanowires. 135 Recently, Reches and colleagues were able to self-assemble the aromatic FF dipeptides and its Boc-protected analogue into either tubular or spherical structures and obtain various morphologies from these self-assembling peptides, which complement the classical amyloid fibril structure, as shown in Fig. 6.…”

Fabrication of Nanostructures Using Self-Assembled Peptides as Templates: The Diphenylalanine Case

“…A more simple fabrication of Si and conducting polymer nanowires was developed by using FF NTs as a dry etching mask in a deep RIE fabrication process [11,19,26]. The key to the success of this method is the capacity of the FF NTs to withstand the RIE process and their solubility in water.…”

“…Following this, the modified wafer is placed in a STS C010 multiplex cluster system with a pressure of 300 mTorr and a power of 100 W. For the patterning of the PEDOT:TsO, oxygenbased plasma is used (98 sccm O 2 and 20 sccm N 2 ) for 15 s, after which the wafer is placed in a water bath to remove the dry etching FF NT mask. Using this method, PEDOT nanowires aimed to be used as temperature sensors were fabricated [26] (Figure 2.5).…”