Abstract
Abstract Organic electronics has developed rapidly over the past 40 years. In 1977, a seminal discovery was reported that showed that a polymer known as polyacetylene could conduct electricity as well as metals could. This was a groundbreaking discovery that led to a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000. The polymers that are used in organic electronics have now been widely studied for use in organic solar cells (OSCs), organic field effect transistors (OFETs), printable electronics, flexible electronics, antistatic coatings, actuators, and more recently in bioelectronics. In particular, the utility of organic electronics is seen in the commercial success of using organic electronic materials in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) where OLED displays can be seen in mobile phones and as flat panel displays. In this paper, we provide a tutorial targeting upper secondary students describing how these special classes of polymers function, and how they can be synthesized. The paper further discusses the use of these materials in two applications: organic solar cells and organic light-emitting diodes. The paper ends with a brief discussion about hands-on activities that can be carried out in the upper secondary student science classroom.
Highlights
We currently live in an electronic world where we rely heavily on electronic devices for communication, national security, and personal health monitoring
The utility of organic electronics is seen in the commercial success of using organic electronic materials in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) where OLED displays can be seen in mobile phones and as flat panel displays
While most of the existing technology currently relies on the use of inorganic materials, organic electronic materials offer an advantage in terms of being more eco-friendly and more affordable compared to their inorganic counterparts (Phan & Luscombe, 2019)
Summary
We currently live in an electronic world where we rely heavily on electronic devices for communication, national security, and personal health monitoring. While most of the existing technology currently relies on the use of inorganic materials, organic electronic materials offer an advantage in terms of being more eco-friendly and more affordable compared to their inorganic counterparts (Phan & Luscombe, 2019). Due to their intrinsic flexibility, stretchability, and softness, organic materials have the potential of enabling bodyintegrated devices. Samsung Galaxy cellphones have organic light-emitting diode (OLED)-based displays (Chen, Lee, Lin, Chen, & Wu, 2018). C.K. Luscombe et al.: Theoretical background on semiconducting polymers available that are OLED-based. We end by providing a brief description on hands-on activities
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