{"546141":{"#nid":"546141","#data":{"type":"news","title":"RBI, COPE developing paper-based electronics","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlthough fossil-fuel emissions may be the poster child for global warming, there is also growing concern over environmental harm from discarded electronics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE) and Renewable Bioproducts Institute are developing paper-based electronics\u0026nbsp;\u2014 organic solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) \u2014 fabricated on cellulose-based substrates that can be recycled easily.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUse of paper for substrates has generated considerable buzz among researchers, but its high porosity and surface roughness pose challenges. Today\u2019s organic electronic components use very thin carbon-based semiconductor layers\u0026nbsp;\u2014 about 1,000 times thinner than the average human hair. \u201cBecause they are so thin, you need nearly atomically flat substrates where the surface is down to a nanometer,\u201d explained Bernard Kippelen, director of COPE and a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo address this, Kippelen\u2019s team is using cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), a type of wooden wunderkind material, to develop new semiconductor devices, demonstrating that CNCs are a viable alternative to traditional plastic substrates\u0026nbsp;\u2014 while offering new environmental benefits. Devices made on these substrates can be easily dissolved in water, allowing semiconducting materials and metal layers to be filtered and recycled.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EApplications will depend on economics and performance. For CNC-based solar cells, the researchers have achieved power conversion efficiencies of 4 percent. Efficiencies could be increased to 10 percent but would require more expensive materials, Kippelen said. So instead of paper-based solar farms becoming the norm, he predicts low-power applications, such as computer covers and mousepads, for CNC-based solar cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECellulose-based OLEDs, which have performance comparable with current devices, show greater potential for market adoption. \u201cThe trend in flat-panel displays is larger size and higher resolution,\u201d Kippelen said. \u201cGlass substrates, however, pose manufacturing and transportation problems because of their rigidity and breakability. And plastic has problems at the end-of-product lifecycle.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYet with the low cost and flexibility of paper-based OLEDs, flat panel displays could be the size of a wall.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERead the entire article in \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/features\/12-emerging-technologies-may-help-power-future\u0022\u003Ethe latest issue of Horizon magazine\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Horizons article outlines latest buzz"}],"uid":"28159","created_gmt":"2016-06-20 14:07:49","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:57","author":"Kelly Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-06-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-06-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"413961":{"id":"413961","type":"image","title":"Bernard Kippelen","body":null,"created":"1449254239","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:37:19","changed":"1475895147","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:27","alt":"Bernard Kippelen","file":{"fid":"202426","name":"130329_kippelen_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/130329_kippelen_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/130329_kippelen_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":31115,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/130329_kippelen_0_0.jpg?itok=U2fOdIW9"}},"546151":{"id":"546151","type":"image","title":"COPE - organic electronics","body":null,"created":"1466452800","gmt_created":"2016-06-20 20:00:00","changed":"1475895338","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:38","alt":"COPE - organic electronics","file":{"fid":"91837","name":"cope_two_students.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cope_two_students.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cope_two_students.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":642538,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/cope_two_students.jpg?itok=bjIl6fD3"}}},"media_ids":["413961","546151"],"groups":[{"id":"372221","name":"Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI)"}],"categories":[{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}