Solution growth of single crystals of 4-hydroxycyanobenzene (4HCB) suitable for electronic applications

Squared, platelet-like single crystals of 4-hydroxycyanobenzene (4HCB) have been grown from solutions based on ethylic ether and petroleum ether. Properly modifying the growth conditions, in terms of both solvent used for the growth and concentration of 4HCB in the starting solution, allowed one to tune the planar dimensions of the platelets in the range 2–6mm, and their thickness in the range 150–600 mm. In this way samples well suited for desired practical manipulation and electronic measurements may be obtained. Moreover, lowering the growth temperature resulted in larger but still thin 4HCB crystals. The ability to tailor crystal thickness has allowed one to study their Space-Charge Limited Current (SCLC) behaviour along that dimension, showing that the so-contacted samples exhibit intrinsic-like bulk conduction behaviour, and are hence well suitable for electronic studies and applications.