Room-temperature charge localization in ion-coupled bilayer transistors

The ability to localize mobile charges in solids is essential for understanding a range of correlated electron transport phenomena. Yet, existing approaches rely on weak interaction potentials, limiting their applicability to low-temperature conditions. Park, Liu and Vaikuntanathan addressed this challenge by creating ion-gated bilayer transistors based on hybrid bilayer crystals, composed of a monolayer perylene diimide molecular crystal stacked on a monolayer of molybdenum disulfide (Fig. A). This design enables negatively and positively charged carriers to coexist in close proximity, forming coupled electron–ion dipoles that promote robust charge localization even at room temperature and high charge densities. These findings open new pathways for harnessing correlated electron transport phenomena, with potential impacts across solid-state physics, materials science, physical chemistry, and modern electronics.