We report a method for controlling the orientations of conjugated polymers in the active layer of organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) by annealing the film at the melting temperature in a vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube (VA-CNT) template under various load pressures. Poly(3-hexylthiophene) [P3HT] molecules are effectively aligned in the melting state annealing at 240 °C for 30 ...

Effects of size and coverage density of silver nanoparticles (AgPs) on the fluorescence emission and fluorescence lifetime of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) thin films were investigated. AgPs of 64 nm diameter showed greater effects on the fluorescence decay process of P3HT films as compared with 7 nm AgPs. The fluorescence lifetime (FL) of P3HT decreased from 0.61 to 0.22 ns in the pre...

We report the cooperative self-assembly of functionalized fullerenes and all conjugated block copolymers (BCPs) containing polythiophene derivatives in both segments to yield solar cells with well-defined nanostructures and enhanced morphological stability. Favorable hydrogen bonding interactions between the COOH-functionalized fullerene, bis[6, 6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid (bis-PCBA), and the te...

The properties of molecularly doped films of conjugated polymers are explored as the crystallinity of the polymer is systematically varied. Solution sequential processing (SqP) was used to introduce 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ) into poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) while preserving the pristine polymer’s degree of crystallinity. X-ray data suggest that F4TC...

The first successful synthesis of a new rod-rod-rod triblock copolymer, polyacetylene(PA)-b-poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT)-b-PA could be synthesized by a combination of quasi-living Grignard metathesis (GRIM) and living anionic polymerization. We first confirmed that poly(4-tolyl vinyl sulfoxide) (PTVS), which is a soluble precursor for PA, could be synthesized by living anionic polymerization in...

A conducting diblock copolymer of PS-b-P3HT was added to serve as a compatibilizer in a P3HT/PCBM blend, which improved the power-conversion efficiency from 3.3% to 4.1% due to the enhanced crystallinity, morphology, interface interaction, and depth profile of PCBM.

We describe a spectroelectrochemical approach to accelerated electrochemical stability studies of conjugated polymers under oxidative stress. The polaron stabilities of alternating copolymers based on (i) thiophene and thiazole, namely PTTz, and (ii) bithiophene and thiazole, namely PTTTz, are compared in neat films with that of P3HT. P3HT is found to be the most stable whilst PTTz is found to ...

Poly(3-hexylthiophene)-functionalized siloxane nanoparticles were prepared by a modified Stöber method. The photovoltaic performance of P3HT-nanohybrids with C60 derivative PCBM was evaluated. The device made from 1 : 1 blends of P3HT-NPs:PCBM showed reasonably good photovoltaic performance with a power conversion efficiency of 2.5% under standard test conditions (AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm(-2)).

Organic semiconductor nanoparticles provide a potentially scalable approach for photovoltaics that can be processed from aqueous media. Particles of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) were prepared using two techniques; those produced by a mini-emulsion method contained greater amounts of crystalline P3HT domains with charge generation resembling phase-sep...

We report charge transport measurements in nanoscale vertical pillar structures incorporating ultrathin layers of the organic semiconductor poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). P3HT layers with thickness down to 5 nm are gently top-contacted using wedging transfer, yielding highly reproducible, robust nanoscale junctions carrying high current densities (up to 106 A/m2). Current-voltage data modeling ...