Dr. Serpil Tekoglu, a researcher at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, has demonstrated that one of earth’s most inexhaustible assets, a common biopolymer, can be used in the production of electrochemical transistors. Dr. Tekoglu’s paper on the subject has earned her a nomination by the British Royal Society of Chemistry as one of the “2025 Women in Materials Science”.

Cellulose (a structural compound found in plants and made of long chains of sugars) is abundant in nature, which is one of its advantages. Dr. Serpil Tekoglu (Institute of Physical Chemistry and Linz Institute for Organic Solar Cells (head: Wittgenstein Award winner Prof. Niyazi Serdar Sariciftci), remarked: “Nanocellulose is a renewable and biodegradable nanomaterial, paving the way for future sustainable and flexible bioelectronics.”

Cellulose has Special Properties
Cellulose is not only bio-compatible, its special surface is more conducive to transporting ions. In other words, the human body does not reject these types of nanomaterials, nor do they result in an inflammatory reaction, making them well-suited in medical applications.

Together with researchers at the University of Pisa (under the direction of Dr. Alessandra Operamolla), the JKU chemist has successfully demonstrated how the material could be the ideal choice in the manufacturing of organic electrochemical transistors used in wearable and implantable sensors.

The groundbreaking discovery was published in a paper titled “Nanocrystalline Cellulose-based Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductor for Bioelectronics” in the renowned Journal of Materials Chemistry, and was also picked up by the Royal Society of Chemistry. In addition, the JKU researcher was nominated for the title of “2025 Women in Materials Science”. Dr. Tekoglu was also selected as one of the “ChemPlus Talents” by ChemPlusChem - Chemistry Europe, opens an external URL in a new window in recognition of her interdisciplinary research in the field of sustainable bio-electrocatalysis. Chemistry Europe is an association of 16 European chemical societies that publish in partnership with Wiley.

Dr. Tekoglu added: “I am truly honored by all of these nominations but above all, they are confirmation of the outstanding research environment we have in material sciences at the JKU.”

Read the paper: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/tc/d4tc03264k, opens an external URL in a new window

The “Royal Society of Chemistry” Collection:
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/journals/articlecollectionlanding?sercode=tc&themeid=10415fd8-e3ae-4cbf-bfb1-eac087e25974, opens an external URL in a new window