Research Information System
3rd EuCheMS (European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences)-Chemistry Congress, Nürnberg, Germany, 20 August - 02 September 2010, pp.34
Porous metal oxides are indisputably interesting materials for fundamental research and applications since they combine the unique features of porosity and the accompanied high surface area with the versatile functions of metal oxides, for example (semi)conductivity, magnetism, photoluminescence or catalytic activity. These features allow further development of optoelectronic devices ranging from dye sensitized solar cells to electrocatalytic or bioelectronic devices, as the nanostructure allows the incorporation of higher amounts of supported catalytic or enzymatic centres, while the transparency of the electrode makes a spectroscopic characterization of these centres possible even during cell performance.[1]
In this context we demonstrate that transparent mesoporous tin-rich ITO films with durable and high electrical conductivity can be simply prepared directly from an organometallic single source precursor in solution.[2] The polymer additives significantly increases the porosity and conductivity while maintaining the optical transparency of the coatings. Nanoporous tin-rich ITO-based films have been successfully applied as nanoporous transparent electrodes for the immobilization of cytochrome c within the pores, leading to highly sensitive biosensors. TEM investigations show that the amorphous character of the conducting films is maintained even at 400 °C which is essential for applications in printable electronics. In addition, the reduced indium concentration in the material combined with the stability of the porous structure opens the way to develop low-cost and flexible optoelectronic devices.
[1] J. N. Kondo, K. Domen, Chemistry of Materials 2008, 20, 835.
[2] Y. Aksu, M, Driess Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2009, 121, 7918.