On a scale much smaller than a plastic game piece, the researchers gradually applied heat to the molecule’s alkyl chain the increased temperature induced the domino-like effect. Only their tilt changes,” Davies said.īut tilting a string of molecules is neither as easy nor as tactile as picking up a domino and rotating it 90 degrees. “Just like dominoes, the molecules don’t move from where they are fixed. They discovered that rearranging the clusters of hydrogen and carbon atoms spooling out from a molecule’s core - otherwise known as alkyl chains - causes the molecular core itself to tilt, triggering a crystal-wide chain of collapse the researchers refer to as an “avalanche.” And for that to happen, the semiconductor molecules must cooperate.ĭominoes inspired the researchers' approach to trigger molecular teamwork in a semiconductor crystal. It's a bright future indeed, but an important step toward designing dynamic organic electronics like these is fashioning dynamic organic semiconductors. Organic semiconductors that can flex without breaking and contour to human skin would likewise be “an important part of the future of organic electronic devices,” Davies said. “In the future, organic electronics might be able to attach to our brains to enhance cognition or, be worn like a Band-aid to convert our body heat into electricity.”ĭiao studies the design of solar cells: wafer-thin window clings that soak up sunlight to convert into electricity. ![]() “Since organic electronics are made from the same basic elements as living beings, like people, they unlock many new possibilities for applications,” said Diao, who is also an associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. "We thought, 'If the molecules in electronic devices worked together, could those devices display those same benefits?'"ĭiao and Davies study organic electronic devices, which rely on semiconductors made from molecules like hydrogen and carbon rather than inorganic ones like silicon, a ubiquitous ingredient in the laptops, desktops, and smart devices saturating the market today. “Molecular cooperativity helps living systems operate quickly and efficiently," Davies said. coli infection can tirelessly contract its protein-packed tail with little energy lost.įor a long time, researchers have struggled to replicate this cooperative process in non-living systems to reap its time- and energy-saving benefits. This problem was of particular interest to Diao and Davies, who wondered how molecular teamwork might impact the electronics sector. The collaborative method is fast, energy-efficient, and easily reversible - it’s why the virus responsible for E. It’s exhausting and laborious, and once you’ve finished, you would most likely not have the energy to try it again,” said Daniel Davies, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the Beckman Institute at the time of the study.īy contrast, cooperative transitions occur when molecules shift their structure in synchrony, like a row of dominoes flowing seamlessly to the floor. “Imagine taking down an elaborate domino display brick by brick. Instead, they test researchers’ patience by plodding through structural transitions one molecule at a time - a process famously demonstrated by diamonds growing from carbon, which demands blistering heat, intense pressure, and thousands of years sequestered deep beneath the earth. Though aesthetically pleasing, the molecules that comprise crystalline structures have diva-like dispositions and seldom work together. Viruses may have mastered molecular cooperativity, but the same cannot be said of crystals: non-living molecular structures classified by their symmetry. “Our research brings semiconductors to life by unlocking the same dynamic qualities that natural organisms like viruses use to adapt and survive,” said Ying Diao, a researcher at the Beckman Institute and a coauthor of the study. Their work was accepted for publication in Nature Communications. The energy- and time-saving phenomenon may help enhance the performance of smartwatches, solar cells, and other organic electronics. Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology discovered a way to trigger this cooperative behavior in organic semiconductors. This process, called molecular cooperativity, is often observed in nature but rarely seen in non-living systems. Thanks to the proteins' teamwork, the tail can flex and flatten with ease. Then, the proteins in the tail contract in unison, flattening its structure like a stepped-on spring and reeling the virus's body in for the critical strike. ![]() coli infection has a secret weapon: teamwork.Īlways scrappy in its bid for survival, the virus alights on an unassuming host cell and grips the surface with the business end of its tubular tail.
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