THE stimulatory effects of caffeine on humans are well documented - but researchers in Japan now believe the compound can also make semiconductors work faster.
A new report from the country's Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) institute has found that depositing a very thin layer of caffeic acid on an electrode within an organic semiconductor was able to boost the device's current flow by up to 100 times.
The researchers said they used vacuum deposition to create the layer on a piece of gold, with the caffeic acid molecules apparently spontaneously lining up on the electrode surface, making the current flow faster.
Unfortunately the breakthrough doesn't mean spilling a cup of coffee on your keyboard will speed up your computer, but practical applications could include the development of sustainable organic semiconductor devices created entirely with biomass-derived materials.
Current techniques include electrode modification layers which are not recyclable and "may adversely affect aquatic organisms", the researchers said.
Caffeic acid can be used instead regardless of the type of substrate, with the scientists noting that "even if we use molecules that are ubiquitous in plants, it wil be possible to boost the performance of organic semiconductors in the same way as conventional materials".
The paper, including the clearly deeply insightful diagram below, was published in the Advanced Materials Interfaces journal just last week.
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