The Prospect of Dimensionality in Porous Semiconductors

Graphical Abstract

With the advent of electronic devices, lightweight alternatives to conventionally used semiconductors are required. Porous (metal–)organic semiconductors are intriguing alternatives to silicon and especially their structural tunability resulted in a wide variety of functional materials. Although molecular design of these semiconductors is well understood, dimensionality and its influences are seldomly evaluated. In this Minireview, the role of dimensionality in porous semiconductors is critically evaluated.

Abstract

With the advent of silicon-based semiconductors, a plethora of previously unknown technologies became possible. The development of lightweight low-dimensional organic semiconductors followed soon after. However, the efficient charge/electron transfers enabled by the non-porous 3D structure of silicon is rather challenging to be realized by their (metal-)organic counterparts. Nevertheless, the demand for lighter, more efficient semiconductors is steadily increasing resulting in a growing interest in (metal-)organic semiconductors. These novel materials are faced with a variety of challenges originating from their chemical design, their packing and crystallinity. Although the effect of molecular design is quite well understood, the influence of dimensionality and the associated change in properties (porosity, packing, conjugation) is still an uncharted area in (metal-)organic semiconductors, yet highly important for their practical utilization. In this Minireview, an overview on the design and synthesis of porous semiconductors, with a particular emphasis on organic semiconductors, is presented and the influence of dimensionality is discussed.