The electrochemical doping and undoping processes of poly-(3,3′′-didodecyl-2,2′:5′,2′′terthiophene) (poly(33′′DDTT)) were studied by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) to characterize the electron transfer of the polymer with a redox mediator in solution when the polymer was at different oxidation levels. SECM showed that electron exchange processes of oxidized poly(33′′DDTT) were local...

Nematic polymer nanocomposites (NPNCs) are comprised of large aspect ratio rod-like or platelet macromolecules in a polymeric matrix. Anisotropy and heterogeneity in the effective properties of NPNC films are predicted in this article. To do so, we combine results on the flow-processing of thin films of nematic polymers in a planar Couette cell, together with homogenization results for the effe...

Solution-cast, thin-film polymer composites find a wide range of applications, such as in the photoactive layer of organic solar cells. The performance of this layer crucially relies on its phase-separated morphology. Efficient charge-carrier extraction requires each of the components to preferentially wet one of the two electrodes. It is often presumed that the experimentally observed surface ...

Microelectronic circuits/arrays produced via high-speed printing instead of traditional photolithographic processes offer an appealing approach to creating the long-sought after, low-cost, large-area flexible electronics. Foremost among critical enablers to propel this paradigm shift in manufacturing is a stable, solution-processable, high-performance semiconductor for printing functionally cap...

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The rapid development of nanoscience and nanotechnology involves polymer films with thickness down to nanometer scale. However, the properties of ultrathin polymer films are extremely different from that of bulk matrix or thin films. It is challenging to distinguish the changes of physical properties in ultrathin films using conventional techniques especially when it locates near the glass tran...

We report the phase behaviour of polymer/fullerene/solvent ternary mixtures and its consequence for the morphology of the resulting composite thin films. We focus particularly on solutions of polystyrene (PS), C60 fullerene and toluene, which are examined by static and dynamic light scattering, and films obtained from various solution ages and thermal annealing conditions, using atomic force an...

In this work, we present a statistical mechanical analysis to elucidate the molecular-level factors responsible for the static and dynamic properties of polymer films. This analysis, which we term conformal sites theory, establishes that three dimensionless parameters play important roles in determining differences from bulk behavior for thin polymer films near to surfaces: a microscopic wettin...

Flexible organic light emitting diode (OLED) will be the ultimate display technology to customers and industries in the near future but the challenges are still being unveiled one by one. Thin-film encapsulation (TFE) technology is the most demanding requirement to prevent water and oxygen permeation into flexible OLED devices. As a polymer substrate does not offer the same barrier performance ...

Some applications in microelectronics call for freestanding polyimide films with fine metallic wiring patterns that are thinner than commercially available copper-clad polyimide sheets, which are typically greater than 25 pm in thickness. This work describes a laserassisted technique to fabricate freestanding multilayer thin-film wiring with polyimide dielectric insulating layers that are less ...