Bipolar Electrochemistry with Organic Single Crystals for Wireless Synthesis of Metal–Organic Janus Objects and Asymmetric Photovoltage Generation

Abstract

Bipolar electrochemistry has recently emerged as a very unique method to address conducting particles in a wireless manner. The technique is often applied to the fabrication of Janus particles; however the chemical nature of the bipolar electrode has been essentially limited to carbon- or metal-based materials. Here, we report for the first time the use of conducting organic single crystals as bipolar electrodes for the preparation of a new generation of Janus objects. Fabre and Bechgaard salts involving respectively tetrathia- and tetraselenafulvalene were selected for proof-of-concept experiments. Such an approach allows to preserve the integrity of these fragile substrates because it necessitates neither electronic wiring nor mechanical contact. The site-selective electrodeposition of copper is successfully achieved, leading thus to a new metal–organic Janus structure. Subsequently, asymmetric generation of photovoltage under illumination is achieved due to the anisotropic presence of copper, making th...