MOF-Assimilated High-Sensitive Organic Field-Effect Transistors for Rapid Detection of a Chemical Warfare Agent

The selective and rapid detection of trace amounts ofhighly toxicchemical warfare agents has become imperative for efficiently usingmilitary and civilian defense. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)are a class of inorganic-organic hybrid porous material that couldbe potential next-generation toxic gas sensors. However, the growthof a MOF thin film for efficiently utilizing the material propertiesfor fabricating electronic devices has been challenging. Herein, wereport a new approach to efficiently integrate MOF as a receptor throughdiffusion-induced ingress into the grain boundaries of the pentacenesemiconducting film in the place of the most adaptive chemical functionalizationmethod for sensor fabrication. We used bilayer conducting channel-basedorganic field-effect transistors (OFETs) as a sensing platform comprisingCPO-27-Ni as the sensing layer, coated on the pentacene layer, showeda strong response toward sensing of diethyl sulfide, which is oneof the stimulants of bis (2-chloroethyl) sulfide, a highly toxic sulfurmustard (HD). Using OFET as a sensing platform, these sensors canbe a potential candidate for trace amounts of sulfur mustard detectionbelow 10 ppm in real time as wearable devices for onsite uses.

Automated summary

The selective and rapid detection of trace amounts of highly toxic chemical warfare agents using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is imperative for military and civilian defense. However, efficiently using MOFs as electronic devices has been challenging. In this study, a new approach integrating MOF as a receptor in a pentacene semiconducting film for sensor fabrication was reported. The resulting sensors showed a strong response toward diethyl sulfide, a stimulant of the highly toxic sulfur mustard, making them potential candidates for real-time detection of sulfur mustard below 10 ppm.