Stretched Contact Printing of One-Dimensional Nanostructures for Hybrid Inorganic–Organic Field Effect Transistors

Abstract

We demonstrate a stretched contact printing technique to assemble one-dimensional nanostructures with controlled density and orientation from either dry or wet sources. The random, chaotically arranged nanostructures can gradually transform to a highly aligned configuration. Our results show that up to 90% of the printed nanowires are aligned within ±15° of the primary stretching direction. This approach is easily applicable to a variety of nanowires and nanotubes on different substrates, and we demonstrate various field effect transistors with nanowire and hybrid nanowire–polymer networks. The hybrid inorganic–organic transistors based on a parallel aligned nanowire network and a semiconducting polymer revealed a significant enhancement in transistor mobility, a 10-fold reduction in subthreshold slope (∼0.26 V decade–1), and superior air stability compared to a pristine polymer host.