Organic topological insulators

Topological insulators (TIs) are a new class of materials with quantized conducting edge/surface states reside in the insulating bulk electronic states for two-dimensional (2D)/3D structures, as characterized by nontrivial topology invariant. Inspired by the development of many conventional functional materials and devices that were first discovered in inorganic systems and later found with organic counterparts, such as semiconductors and light-emitting diodes, TIs were originally proposed and experimentally confirmed exclusively in inorganic materials before their organic counterparts were proposed. In this chapter, we will give an up-to-date overview of recent research progress in organic TIs (OTIs), and briefly discuss the challenges and possible future research directions in this emerging field. We envision that OTIs may open a new avenue towards organic spintronics.