Ph.D., 2012, Weizmann Institute of Science

M.Sc., 2007, Weizmann Institute of Science

B.Sc., 2004, Ben Gurion University

Research Focus: 
The main goal of our research is to discover new electronic and optical properties of conjugated organic molecules and polymers. In particular, we are interested in various aspects of conjugated molecules with axial chirality and in their application as chiral organic semiconductors. We also study low bandgap polymers bearing fused heterocycles, aiming for strong fluoresce in the near infrared (NIR) spectral region. In addition, we explore various aspects related to the interface between supramolecular chemistry and organic electronics.

While the main part of our work involves organic synthesis of new materials, we also use computational tools to predict the properties of these materials. In addition, we investigate the photophysical, chiroptical and electronic properties of our materials (both in solution and in the solid state) with various characterization techniques, such as electrochemistry, UV-Vis-NIR absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, and circular dichroism, to gain deeper understanding of their structure-property relation. We also collaborate with several groups for the purpose of testing our materials as the active layer in optical and electronic devices, such as organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and light-emitting transistors (OLETs).

Selected Publications

-          O. Gidron, M. Jirasek, N. Trapp, M-O. Ebert, X. Zhang and F. Diederich, Homochiral [2]Catenane and Bis[2]catenane from Alleno-Acetylenic Helicates - A Highly Selective Narcissistic Self-Sorting Process. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 12502.
-          O. Gidron, M-O. Ebert, N. Trapp and F. N. Diederich, Chiroptical Detection of Non-Chromophoric, Achiral Guests by Enantiopure Alleno-Acetylenic Helicages. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 13614.
-          O. Gidron and M. Bendikov, Oligofurans – An Emerging Class of Conjugated Oligomers for Organic Electronics. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 2546.
-          O. Gidron, N. Varsano, L. J. W. Shimon, G. Leitus and M. Bendikov, Study of Bifuran Linker vs. Bithiophene Linker for Rational Design of π-Conjugated Systems. What Have We Learned? Chem. Commun. 2013, 49, 6256. Selected for the front cover page.
-          O. Gidron, Y. Diskin-Posner and M. Bendikov, High Charge Delocalization and Conjugation in Oligofuran Molecular Wires. Chem. Eur. J. 2013, 19, 13140.
-          O. Gidron, A. Dadvand, E. W.-H. Sun, I. Chung, L. J. W. Shimon, M. Bendikov and D. F. Perepichka, Oligofuran-Containing Molecules for Organic Electronics, J. Mater. Chem. C 2013, 1, 4358
-          O. Gidron, L. J. W. Shimon, G. Leitus and M. Bendikov, Reactivity of Long Conjugated Systems: Selectivity of Diels-Alder Cycloaddition in Oligofurans. Org. Lett. 2012, 14, 502.
-          O. Gidron, A. Dadvand, Y. Sheynin, M. Bendikov, and D. F. Perepichka, Towards "Green" Electronic Materials. a-Oligofurans as Semiconductors. Chem. Commun. 2011, 47, 1976. Selected for the front cover page.
-          O. Gidron, Y. Diskin-Posner and M. Bendikov, α-Oligofurans. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 2148.
·         Selected as a research highlight by Chemical & Engineering News, 2010, 88.
·         Selected for highlighting in SYNFACTS 2010, 5, 0536.
·         Research highlight (U. H. F. Bunz, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 5037).