n-type semiconductor with energy storage made from chitosan

Abstract

Chitosan, obtained from crustaceans such as crabs and shrimp, has been mainly used in medicine; however, no studies on its use in electronic applications with semiconducting and large storage properties have been reported. Here, we report an n-type semiconducting biomaterial with energy storage properties of 694.4 mJ/m2 consisting of a chitosan nanofiber (ChNF) film with N-type negative resistance. The ChNF generates an alternative-current wave with a frequency of 7.8 MHz at a threshold voltage of 187 MV/m from a direct-current voltage source, with the switching effect of a third-order resistance change. This is due to the Gunn effect, caused by the repeated voltage-induced generation of a strong electric field domain (electric double layer) at the cathode and its disappearance at the anode of the ChNF device. Electron spin resonance spectral analysis showed that conducting electrons of the ChNF were identified as radicals on the aminyl radical, N·H. Paper electronics made from marine products are a great boon to a renewable society.