Executive Summary : | The development of clean and sustainable energy resources is crucial to combat global warming, climate change, and air pollution. This proposal proposes a simple design strategy for small molecule materials capable of holding quasi-electric charges, which can be used for self-powering electronic devices through mechanical processes. The design principal involves shielding a π-chromophore with insulating bulky alkyl chains, which act as an insulator to trap charge-particles when charged with external electric discharge processes like corona discharge. This trapped quasi-electric charge can be used for mechanoelectrical energy conversion in prototype piezoelectric/electret device applications. While some polymeric materials exhibit similar charge holding properties, they have limitations in practical applicability due to complicated synthetic procedures and processability. The research area of alkyl-insulated π-derivatives for holding quasi-electric charges has just started its development, and more investigations are needed for their practical utility. The project will focus on various types of conjugated π-surfaces with similar potential to porphyrins, such as large conjugated π-units like Perylene Bisimide (PBI) and Pyrene, as well as small conjugated π-surfaces like Corannulene and Tetraphenyl Ethylene. The project will use two types of bulky and flexible and bulky branched alkyl chains, both hydrophobic and hydrophilic in nature. Based on surface voltage analysis and holding quasi-electric charges on corona-charging by these target materials, the compounds will be taken to the next step in prototype device fabrication for testing their mechanoelectrical energy conversion efficiency. |