Sulfur-Containing Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Materials

SUMMARY

• Organic‐inorganic hybrid sulfur‐containing materials show promising properties for a variety of applications (e.g., superconductors, thermoelectrics, etc.). Efficient synthesis of such compounds—especially those containing dithiolene‐type ligands—has historically been challenging due to general instability of the constituent components. As such, prior demonstrations of dithiolene‐tin/silicon agents have been limited to use in the synthesis of molecular complexes.
• This invention addresses prior shortcomings by developing and synthesized dithiolene tin/silicon precursors that are both isolable and relatively more stable than their conventional counterparts, which allows for further purification and long‐term storage. These precursors are also more soluble in common organic solvents offering more variety of material synthesis conditions. By being able to isolate these components, alternative synthesis strategies have been developed to enable controlled design of final material properties a priori.
• The building blocks developed by this technology are also redox‐active, which allows for synthesis of materials with different oxidation states that have not previously been demonstrated.  Control over the redox characteristics prior to material synthesis allows for precise and even doping, which is required for regulating the electronic structure of the materials.
• Using this approach, the inventors have demonstrated electronically functional material synthesis, of conductive sulfur coordination polymers with varied electronic states; this has not been possible for dithiolene‐tin/silicon agents until this point. The technology has been developed with a full understanding of the structural characteristics of the tin- and nickel-containing compounds, ultimately enabling a brand‐new synthetic strategy centered around pre‐synthetic redox doping.

FIGURE

ADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES

• Precise control over electronic properties through controlled doping
• Long-term chemical stability
• High solubility in conventional commercial solvents

APPLICATIONS

• Optoelectronic devices
• Energy and energy-related devices (fuel cells, solar cells, catalyst, thermoelectrics, superconductors)
• Sensors for environmental and biological applications
• Membranes and separation devices
• Functional smart coatings

PUBLICATIONS

• Xie, J., Ewing, S., Boyn, JN. et al. Intrinsic glassy-metallic transport in an amorphous coordination polymer. Nature (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05261-4

January 3, 2022

Proof of concept

Patent Pending

Licensing,Co-development

John Anderson