Guillaume Schweicher

Biography

Guillaume Schweicher is a FNRS Research Associate (Chercheur Qualifié) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium). He is one of two PIs in the Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry, where he leads the device branch. He received his Master in Chemical Engineering (2008) and Ph.D. (2012) from ULB, followed by post-doctoral appointments at Stanford University (US, 2013, Zhenan Bao), the University of Cambridge (UK, 2014-2019, Henning Sirringhaus) and ULB (Belgium, 2019-2021, Yves Geerts). In 2021, Guillaume was awarded a tenured “Chercheur Qualifié” by the FNRS to pursue his independent research career and established his group at ULB in October of the same year. His research focuses on the design of organic and hybrid semiconductors, with an emphasis on the fundamental understanding of charge, heat, and spin transport, toward the development of sustainable and green electronic materials. For him, microscopy images are bridging the gap between science and art, intriguing and leading to reflection. Since October 2019, he started to interact with Ohme, a Belgian transdisciplinary and creative label, as an Associate Researcher on the establishment of art and sciences contents in accessible, educational and interactive formats. So far, the most notable outcome from this collaboration is the realisation of the audiovisual performance: “Tales of Entropy”, staging the irresistible beauty and poetry of an organic compound changing its physical state in a thermal gradient, under polarized light, premiered 2020/10/23, Pilar, Brussels.

Keywords

• Transport properties of condensed matter
• Electronic properties of materials and transport
• Molecular electronics
• Structural properties of materials
• Solid state materials
• Thin films

Key Publications

A full publication list can be found on Google Scholar

Alignment of Organic Semiconductors

• G. Schweicher, G. Gbabode, F. Quist, O. Debever, N. Dumont, S. Sergeyev, Y. H. Geerts* “Homeotropic and Planar Alignment of Discotic Liquid Crystals: The Role of the Columnar Mesophase” Chemistry of Materials 2009, 21, 5867
  DOI: 10.1021/cm902634r
• G. Schweicher, N. Paquay, C. Amato, R. Resel, M. Koini, S. Talvy, V. Lemaur, J. Cornil, Y. H. Geerts*, G. Gbabode “Toward Single Crystal Thin Films of Terthiophene by Directional Crystallization using a Thermal Gradient” Crystal Growth and Design 2011, 11, 3663
  DOI: 10.1021/cg2007793
• G. Schweicher, G. Liu*, P. Fastré, R. Resel, M. Abbas, G. Wantz, Y. H. Geerts, “Directional Crystallization of C8-BTBT-C8 Thin Films in a Temperature Gradient” Materials Chemistry Frontiers 2021, 5, 249
  DOI: 10.1039/D0QM00472C

Rational Design of Organic Semiconductors

• G. Schweicher, V. Lemaur, C. Niebel, C. Ruzié, O. Goto, W.-Y. Lee, Y. Kim, Y. Diao, J.-B. Arlin, J. Karpinska, A. R. Kennedy, S. R. Parkin, Y. Olivier, S. C. B. Mannsfeld, J. Cornil, Y. H. Geerts*, Z. Bao*“Bulky End-Capped [1]Benzothieno[3,2-b]benzothiophenes: Reaching High Mobility Organic Semiconductors by Fine Tuning of the Crystalline Solid-State Order” Advanced Materials 2015, 27, 19, 3066
  DOI: 10.1002/adma.201500322
• R. Jouclas, J. Liu, M. Volpi, L. Silva de Moraes, G. Garbay, N. McIntosh, M. Bardini, V. Lemaur, A. Vercouter, C. Gatsios, F. Modesti, N. Turetta, D. Beljonne, J. Cornil, A. R. Kennedy, N. Koch, P. Erk, P. Samorì, G. Schweicher *, Y. H. Geerts* “Dinaphthotetrathienoacenes: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications in Organic Field-Effect Transistors”. Advanced Science 2022, 9, 19, 2105674
  DOI: 10.1002/advs.202105674
• R. Meena, P. Pandey, C. Zuffa, P. Brázda, E. Samolova, N. McIntosh, M. Volpi, F. Modesti, C. Gatsios, N. Turetta, L. Catalano, W. Choi, S. Seki, J. Cornil, P. Erk, N. Koch, P. Samori, L. Maini, G. Schweicher*, Y. Geerts* “Crystal Engineering in Oligorylenes : The Quest for Optimized Crystal packing and Enhance Charge Transport”. Crystal Growth and Design 2025, 25, 9, 3087
  DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00145

Charge Transport Mechanisms

• T. Yusuke^†, G. Schweicher^†, B. Chattopadhyay, T. Sakurai, J.-B. Arlin, C. Ruzié, A. Aliev, A. Ciesielski, S. Colella, A. R. Kennedy, V. Lemaur, Y. Olivier, R. Hadji, L. Sanguinet, F. Castet, S. Osella, D. Dudenko, D. Beljonne, J. Cornil, P. Samorì, S. Seki*, Y. H. Geerts* “Unraveling Unprecedented Charge Carrier Mobility through Structure Property Relationship of Four Isomers of Didodecyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene” Advanced Materials 2016, 28, 33, 7106
  ^† These authors contributed equally to this work.
  DOI: 10.1002/adma.201601285
• G. Schweicher^†*, M. T. Ruggiero^†, G. D’Avino^†, D. J. Harkin, K. Broch, D. Venkateshvaran, G. Liu, A. Richard, C. Ruzié, J. Armstrong, A. R. Kennedy, K. Shankland, K. Takimiya, Y. H. Geerts, J. A. Zeitler, S. Fratini*, H. Sirringhaus* “Chasing the ‘killer’ phonon mode for the rational design of low disorder, high mobility molecular semiconductors” Advanced Materials 2019, 31, 1902407
  ^† These authors contributed equally to this work.
  DOI: 10.1002/adma.201902407
• P. Banks, G. D’Avino*, G. Schweicher *, J. Armstrong, C. Ruzié, J. W. Chung, J.-I. Park, C. Sawabe, T. Okamoto, J. Takeya, H. Sirringhaus, M. T. Ruggiero*, “Untangling the Fundamental Electronic Origins of Non-Local Electron-Phonon Coupling in Organic Semiconductors”. Advanced Functional Materials 2023, 33, 38, 2303701
  DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202303701
• S. Giannini†, L. Di Virgilio†, M. Bardini, J. Hausch, J. Geuchies, W. Zheng, M. Volpi, J. Elsner, K. Broch, Y. H. Geerts, F. Schreiber, G. Schweicher, H. Wang*, J. Blumberger, M. Bonn*, D. Beljonne*, “Transiently delocalized states enhance hole mobility in organic molecular semiconductors”. Nature Materials 2023, 22, 1361
  DOI: 10.1038/s41563-023-01664-4

Spin Transport Mechanisms

• A. Wittmann, G. Schweicher, K. Broch, J. Novak, V. Lami, D. Cornil, E. R. McNellis, O. Zadvorna, D. Venkateshvaran, K. Takimiya, Y. H. Geerts, J. Cornil, Y. Vaynzof, J. Sinova, S. Watanabe, H. Sirringhaus* “Tuning Spin Current Injection at Ferromagnet/Non-Magnet Interfaces by Molecular Design”. Physical Review Letters 2020, 124, 027204
  DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.027204
• M. Volpi, R. Jouclas, J. Liu, G. Liu, L. Catalano, N. McIntosh, M. Bardini, C. Gatsios, F. Modesti, N. Turetta, D. Beljonne, J. Cornil, A. R. Kennedy, N. Koch, P. Erk, P. Samorì, G. Schweicher *, Y. H. Geerts*, “Enantiopure Dinaphtho[2,3-b:2,3-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophenes: Reaching High Magnetoresistance Effect in OFETs”. Advanced Science 2023, 10, 26, 2301914
  DOI: 10.1002/advs.202301914

Heat Transport Mechanisms

• M. N. Gueye, A. Vercouter, R. Jouclas, D. Guérin, V. Lemaur, G. Schweicher *, S. Lenfant, A. Antidormi, Y. Geerts, C. Melis, J. Cornil*, D. Vuillaume*, “Thermal conductivity of benzothieno-benzothiophene derivatives at the nanoscale” Nanoscale 2021, 13, 3800
  DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08619C
• Selezneva^†, A. Vercouter^†, G. Schweicher ^†, V. Lemaur, K. Broch, A. Antidormi, K. Takimiya, V. Coropceanu, J.-L. Brédas, C. Melis*, J. Cornil*, H. Sirringhaus* “Strong Suppression of Thermal Conductivity in the Presence of Long Terminal Alkyl Chains in Low-Disorder Molecular Semiconductors”. Advanced Materials 2021, 33, 37, 2008708
  ^† These authors contributed equally to this work.
  DOI: 10.1002/adma.202008708
• D. Venkateshvaran*, M. T. R. Cervantes, L. J. Spalek, K.-H. Hwang, K. Pudzs, M. Rutkis, G. Schweicher, P. Padilla-Longoria “Understanding the Thermoelectric Transport Properties of Organic Semiconductors through the Perspective of Polarons”. Advanced Devices & Instrumentation 2024, 5, a.0067
  DOI: 10.34133/adi.0067

Stability of organic electronic devices

• M. Nikolka*, G. Schweicher, J. Armitage, I. Nasrallah, C. Jellett, Z. Guo, M. Hurhangee, A. Sadhanala, I. McCulloch, C. B. Nielsen, H. Sirringhaus* “Performance Improvements in Conjugated Polymer Devices by Removal of Water-Induced Traps” Advanced Materials 2018, 30, 1801874
  DOI: 10.1002/adma.201801874
• C. di Leva†, Z. Song†, F. Caporaletti, G. Schweicher, S. Napolitano* “Polymer melt adsorption kinetics as a spectrum of activated processes”. Macromolecules 2026, 59, 14, 8476
  DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6c01389

Review

• G. Schweicher, G. Garbay, R. Jouclas, F. Vibert, F. Devaux, Y. H. Geerts* “Molecular Semiconductors for Logic Operations: Dead-end or Bright Future?” Advanced Materials 2020, 32, 10, 1905909
  DOI: 10.1002/adma.201905909
• S. Fratini, M. Nikolka, A. Salleo, G. Schweicher, H. Sirringhaus* “Charge transport in high-mobility conjugated polymers and molecular semiconductors” Nature Materials 2020, 19, 491
  DOI: 10.1038/s41563-020-0647-2
• B. M. T. C. Peluzo, R. Meena, L. Catalano*, G. Schweicher *, M. T. Ruggiero* “Exploring the Interplay of Lattice Dynamics and Charge Transport in Organic Semiconductors: Progress Towards Rational Phonon Engineering”. Angewandte Chemie 2025, 64, 26, e202507566
  DOI: 10.1002/anie.202507566