2024 article
Flexible Self-Powered Organic Photodetector with High Detectivity for Continuous On-Plant Sensing
Schrickx, H. M., Gyurek, S., Moore, C., Hernandez-Pagan, E., Doherty, C. J., Kudenov, M. W., & Brendan T. O'Connor. (2024, February 8). ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS.
author keywords: flexible photodetector; on-plant sensing; organic photodetector; plant health monitoring; self-powered photodetector; soil remediation
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
2. Zero Hunger
(OpenAlex)
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
(Web of Science)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: February 19, 2024
AbstractOrganic photodetectors (OPDs) exhibit performance on par with inorganic detectors (e.g., Si) but can be ultrathin, ultra‐lightweight, flexible, and mechanically resilient, opening up opportunities for novel applications including optical sensors for continuous human and plant health monitoring. Here, a high‐performance flexible self‐powered OPD designed for on‐plant optical sensing is developed. The OPD employs an electrode consisting of Ag nanowires (NWs) embedded in a UV‐curable resin to achieve a flexible and thin form factor. In addition, the OPD active layer consisting of D18‐Cl and Y6 is sequentially cast to reduce dark current. The flexible OPD is sensitive to 400–950 nm wavelengths and exhibits photodetector characteristics comparable to state‐of‐the‐art rigid OPDs. The responsivity reaches values of 0.47 A W−1 and specific detectivity exceeds 1012 Jones. Owing to the embedded Ag NW electrodes in a thin substrate (t = 20 µm) and sequentially cast active layers, the detector demonstrates excellent bending stability. The photocurrent remains steady across 4000 cycles with a bending radius of 2 mm. The flexible OPD is demonstrated to effectively detect plant uptake of the rare‐earth metal terbium and sense time‐dependent chlorophyll fluorescence. Thus, this work highlights the potential for OPDs as on‐plant sensors to advance precision agriculture.