Pressure-sensitive transistor fabricated from an organic semiconductor 1,1′-dibutyl-4,4′-bipyridinium diiodide

Although organic semiconductors have attracted extensive interest and been utilized to fabricate a variety of optoelectronic devices, their electrical transportation characteristics under high pressure have rarely been investigated. However, the weak intermolecular interaction of organic semiconductors endows them with a pressure-sensitive crystal structure and electrical transportation performance, especially the latter. Herein, a new pressure-sensitive transistor was fabricated from an organic semiconductor 1,1′-dibutyl-4,4′-bipyridinium diiodide. It was found that this transistor exhibited increasing resistance as the pressure gradually increased and that it eventually shut off under a pressure of 288 MPa. Such a characteristic makes this organic semiconductor a potential candidate for the use in the fabrication of pressure-sensitive switches and regulators. In addition, these results shed light on the electrical performance of flexible organic optoelectronic devices working under high pressure levels resulted from the bending force.