Electcochemical growth of organic conducting microcrystals of tetrathiafulvalene bromide

The preparation of very good quality microcrystals of the metallic organic charge transfer salt, tetrathiafulvalene bromide (TTF) Br was investigated. The first method combines both bottom-up and top-down approaches, involving the growth of microcrystals from their precursor molecules on electron beam patterned gold microelectrodes. This method gives rise to the production of a large amount of conducting microcrystals. The second approach allows for the fabrication of microcrystals on an insulating SiO₂ surface. The electrochemical experiments were performed by coupling a potentiostat to a microscope Probe Station. This technique could be extendable to the preparation of a vast number of charge transfer salts and organic microcrystals with a large variety of electrical properties accessing different physical properties.