Organic Ferroelectric Molecule Developed As An Alternative To Silicon For Semiconductors

Electrical response overlaid on the newly characterized organic molecular crystal.
Credit: Jiangyu Li, University of Washington

Diisopropylammonium bromide is a new organic molecule synthesized from bromine, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen that may be an alternative to silicon for use in semiconductors and other memory, sensing and low-cost energy storage applications.

Organic molecules are molecules that contain carbon. Carbon is a versatile atom and can attach easily to other atoms (forming 4 covalent bonds). The science of designing, synthesizing, characterizing, and developing applications for molecules that contain carbon is called organic chemistry.

Organic molecules are often associated with living things but for organic compounds this is not necessarily the case. The term comes from the old belief that certain compounds and molecules require a "life-force" of a living thing to be generated. The belief has been discredited but the term still remains.

Organic chemistry applications range from the medical to the industrial. One role of organic chemists is to synthesize and develop new molecules that will address a problem or enhance a product.

Synthetic organic compounds usually carry properties that enhance a process, mitigate or address a design/process flaw, or solve a problem. Most of these applications can be seen in pharmaceutical and consumer products.