NanoTECH Research Area Affiliations

• Nanodevices, Nanophotonics and Nanosystems

Research Summary

Metal nanoclusters incorporated in organic semiconductors alter their electronic properties. It has been shown on polyaniline/gold composite that the greatest effect occurs when the size of the metal particles is below 10 nm. Such nanoclusters can also serve as specific binding sites for gases and vapors and thus serve as functional maerials for design of chemical sensors. Thus, composite of nanoclusters of palladium in polyaniline serves as a well-behaved sensing material for hydrogen. Besides metals, semiconducting inclusions of metal oxides and metal halides have been investigated. Their use in microscopic chemically sensitive field-effect transistors creates devices in mesoscopic region.