Characterization and oxygen-sensing at polycrystalline copper-dicyanoanthraquinone diimines

A series of substituted dicyanoanthraquinone diimines (DCNAQI) and related copper complexes were synthesized and characterized. These materials behaved like semiconductor and showed strong absorption in the IR region. With bandgap excitation, the photoconductances measured at these copper-DCNAQI complexes revealed a nearly linear relationship with the partial pressure of oxygen atmosphere. This remarkable relationship might be attributed to the retardation of the electron mobility caused by the interaction between the electron and oxygen adsorbed at the Cu-DCNAQI surface.