The fabrication and characterization of a supramolecular Cu-based metallogel thin-film based Schottky diode

In the present study, a stable supramolecular Cu(II)-metallogel has been synthesized based on copper(II) acetate monohydrate and succinic acid, engineered as a low-molecular-weight organic gelator. The mechanical assets of the Cu–H4L metallogel have been explored through a rheological investigation. Further, the aggregation of the synthesized metallogel has been well established via several experiments using Job plots and ESI-MS. Apart from this, the morphology of the synthesized supramolecular metallogel was scrutinized via FESEM, TEM, and AFM studies, revealing the self-assembled thread-like morphology of the Cu–H4L metallogel. The functional group, elemental composition, crystalline behaviour, and thermal stability of the Cu–H4L metallogel were probed via FT-IR, XPS, P-XRD, and TGA studies, respectively. The optical properties of the Cu–H4L metallogel reflected its semiconducting nature. Thus, based on the semiconducting properties of the Cu–H4L metallogel, we have successfully fabricated an active electronic device: a ‘Schottky diode’.