Crystalline Microwires of Rubrene for Chemical Sensing

Crystalline nano- and microwires of Rubrene are synthesized from a gas phase deposition method and the sensing behavior of microwires is studied. The resistivity of the microwires in N₂ is 8.82 ± 1.80 × 10³ Ω·cm. The current of the microwires increases when the microwires are exposed to O₂ and decreases on exposure to electron deficient aromatic molecules, such as nitrobenzene and benzaldehyde, suggesting the resistivity change of rubrene microwires may have potential applications in selective chemical sensors for O₂ and electron deficient aromatic molecules, particularly nitro-containing explosive chemicals.