Development of High-Performance Devices for Next-Generation Bioelectronic Interfaces

GIST Develops New Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductor (OMIEC)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] A domestic research team has succeeded in improving the performance and stability of implantable electronic devices, which are gaining attention as next-generation bioelectronic interface devices, through international joint research.

The research team led by Professor Myunghan Yoon of the Department of New Materials Engineering at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), in collaboration with Professor Martin Heeney of Imperial College London (ICL), announced on the 9th that they developed a new organic mixed conductor (OMIEC) and elucidated the effect of molecular structure shape control on the electrical and electrochemical performance enhancement of organic electrochemical transistors.

Organic mixed conductors are materials that simultaneously possess ionic conductivity and electrical conductivity in electrolytes, and have recently attracted significant attention as active layers of implantable electronic devices that can effectively link bioelectrical signals with solid-state electronic signals. In particular, organic electrochemical transistors can operate in electrolytes similar to the in vivo environment, enabling amplification and switching of electrical signals in the brain, heart, muscles, and other biological tissues, and numerous studies related to healthcare device applications are actively underway.

The two newly synthesized mixed conductors by the research team controlled the molecular shape linearly and curvilinearly by utilizing non-covalent bonds between sulfur-oxygen and sulfur-fluorine within the molecular structure. They also analyzed the impact of molecular structure shape on electrical and electrochemical properties through experiments and computational theory.

The linear material can induce high crystallinity between molecules, thereby enhancing electrical properties; however, the region permeable to ions is limited, resulting in a decrease in electrochemical properties. Conversely, the curvilinear material exhibited the opposite trend. By controlling the energy levels through a donor-acceptor repeating molecular structure, it was experimentally confirmed that the material can be applied as an accumulation-type transistor channel, enabling effective device on/off switching and high electrochemical stabilization.

Professor Yoon stated, “This research is significant as it presents a direction for developing new materials for the active layer of organic electrochemical transistors, which are considered next-generation bioelectronic interface devices,” adding, “It is expected to greatly contribute to the realization of high-performance and high-efficiency bioelectronic devices by overcoming the trade-off between electrical and electrochemical properties.”

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