Optical Materials for High-Quality Thin Films and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Coating technologies are widely used in many fields, such as protection, insulation, modification of surface characteristics, etc. Recently, an important field has been nanolayers. These are used for modern technologies, such as optoelectronic devices and sensors. An important characteristic for the quality of a nanolayer is its uniform thickness, which represents one of the most important parameters for the effectivity and lifetime of optoelectronic devices. There is a possibility to make high-quality, uniform-level layers by vacuum deposition, but this method is complicated, slow, and energy-consuming.

Optoelectronic devices, such as light-emitting diodes and solar cells, have become widespread in our life. Yet these technologies remain expensive. Moreover, the manufacturing and utilization of inorganic devices containing heavy metals and rare elements are toxic and often complicated. Organic material-based analogues are cheaper but less reliable and effective. Despite cheaper manufacturing, compared with inorganic analogues, the production of organic optoelectronics by vacuum deposition technology is expensive, requiring specialized equipment; therefore, there is still opportunity to reduce the price of manufacturing these devices by spincoating or nanoprinting. There is still a lack of organic materials exhibiting desired photophysical characteristics that are suitable for layers made by spincoating or nanoprinting. The cheap way of polymerizing the thin films on surfaces is electropolymerization, but this method is still narrowly studied.

Coatings that work as photosensors are interesting for a variety of applications. The materials for sensing layers manufactured using renewable sources are very interesting. Moreover, polymers for the photosensors are very useful because of their lower solubility and higher mechanical stability.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances of high-quality layers related to these areas:

1. High-quality thin-film-forming materials used for electronic devices made by spincoating technique;
2. Nanoprinted effective and reliable optoelectronic devices;
3. High-quality polymeric thin films formed using spincoated or nanoprinted monomers for organic optoelectronics;
4. High-quality thin films made by spincoating or nanoprinting forming materials (including polymers) exhibiting well-defined physical characteristics such as the following:
   1. Near 100 % photoluminescence quantum yield exhibiting materials showing TADF effect and high charges transporting characteristics;
   2. High triplet state energy of thin film exhibiting materials with high ambipolar charges mobility;
   3. Near infrared light-absorbing materials;
   4. No amino groups, covalent sulphur–carbon bonds and other weak chemical bond-containing materials with high holes or ambipolar charge-transporting characteristics;
   5. Other well-characterized exhibiting materials useful for optoelectronics, nanotechnology, or sensors. In addition, the good characteristics exhibiting materials based on renewable sources are particularly interesting.
5. High-quality polymeric thin films made by electropolymerization processes suitable for application in sensors or organic optoelectronics.

Dr. Eigirdas Skuodis
Dr. Simas Mačionis
Guest Editors

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• nanoprinted organic optoelectronics
• spincoated organic optoelectronics
• polymeric organic optoelectronics
• polymeric photosensors
• electropolymerization