Journal article
Rapid-responsive and water-stable organic electrochemical transistors enabled by supramolecular artificial ion channels
Nature materials, Forthcoming
25 Sep 2026
PMID: 42791334
Abstract
Directly coupling ionic fluxes to volumetric electronic transduction, organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) emulate ion-based natural signalling mechanisms and blur the boundary between abiotic electronics and living systems. However, uncontrolled water infiltration into mixed ionic-electronic (semi)conductors slows their response and compromises operational stability in physiological environments. Here, inspired by cell membranes, which precisely regulate ion and water transport through a spatially segregated dual architecture, we develop a supramolecular artificial ion-channel material. Comprising hydrogen-bonded crown ether stacks assembled within a fluorinated polymer matrix, the resulting material combines high ionic conductivity with low water permeability. OECTs operating with the ion-channel layer exhibit simultaneously enhanced temporal response and aqueous stability. Our strategy is applicable to p-type and n-type semiconductors and maintains uniform performance in high-density transistor arrays. When implanted in the rat brain, the OECT devices achieve real-time, high-fidelity monitoring of dopamine dynamics in chronic settings. By resolving the long-standing water-instability bottleneck, our approach advances OECTs towards closed-loop adaptive modulation and biohybrid computing.
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Details
- Title
- Rapid-responsive and water-stable organic electrochemical transistors enabled by supramolecular artificial ion channels
- Creators
- Yuhui Wang - University of PennsylvaniaBowen Cao - University of PennsylvaniaYikai Zou - University of PennsylvaniaTa-Chung Lu - National Yunlin University of Science and TechnologyYewei Huang - University of PennsylvaniaYihan Gao - University of PennsylvaniaYutong Wang - University of PennsylvaniaYuhang Ye - University of PennsylvaniaJiaxin Liu - University of PennsylvaniaTeng Zhang - Drexel UniversityJinxing Li - Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyYang Geng - University of PennsylvaniaYan Ping - University of PennsylvaniaZhiyuan Wang - University of PennsylvaniaJiale Han - University of PennsylvaniaBaoning Sha - University of PennsylvaniaChenhao Hu - University of PennsylvaniaXuxiao Chen - University of PennsylvaniaChengji Zhang - University of PennsylvaniaXuyao Xia - University of PennsylvaniaLingfeng Tang - University of PennsylvaniaYuwei Gu - Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyLing Li - University of PennsylvaniaYury Gogotsi - Drexel UniversityChien-Chung Shih - Department of Chemical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung City, TaiwanYuanwen Jiang (Corresponding Author) - University of Pennsylvania
- Publication Details
- Nature materials, Forthcoming
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Materials Science and Engineering; A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute
- Other Identifier
- 991022232712404721