Asphaltene components as organic electronic materials: paving future for a greener environment?

Much of the world's petroleum resources are in the form of bitumen (heavy and light oil fractions) mixed with sands and clays. These deposits are generally referred to as oil sands. Extraction of the bitumen from this source requires a larger input of energy relative to that required for conventional crude oil. Further, the process requires the use of fresh water and leaves behind large, but temporary, tailings ponds . The environmental impact of mining operations in oil sands has been the subject of much media discussion. Oil sand bitumen contains significant quantities of asphaltenes, which can form deposits in wells and pipelines, as well as insoluble nanosized aggregates under certain conditions. Upgrading this bitumen requires the treatment/removal of asphaltenes, which seriously reduces the cost-effectiveness associated with the process. This is complicated by the fact that asphaltene structure and composition differ depending upon their source. However, they are thought to be composed of central structures of extended aromatic systems with alkyl or alkylthiol substituents and/or bridges[3,4]. There remains a need in the art for new uses of asphaltenes [5]. New uses for asphaltenes help reducing the environmental burden of bitumen extraction in which they are often considered a waste product. Here we report the first results of an exploratory study focusing on the investigation of organic materials comprising asphaltenes from different sources, to evaluate them as active layers in (opto)electronic devices.