O-2 gas sensing behaviors are studied in picene thin film field-effect transistors (FETs) with hydrophobic polymer (Cytop(TM) or polystyrene) coated SiO2 gate dielectrics. Picene thin film FETs show a rapid reduction of hysteresis in transfer curves recorded in forward and reverse measurement modes, compared to a picene FET with hexamethydisilazane-coated SiO2. The picene FETs show very sensitive O-2 gas sensing effects down to similar to 10 ppm. A quantitative analysis is presented of the gate voltage (V-G) dependent mobility induced by O-2 exposure, i.e., the suppression of drain current at high V-G. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.