Abstract
A facile solution-processing strategy toward well-ordered one-dimensional nanostructures of conjugated polymers via a non-solvent vapor treatment was demonstrated, which resulted in enhancements to the charge transport characteristics of the polymers. The amount of crystalline poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanofibers was precisely controlled by simply varying the exposure time of solutions of P3HT solutions to non-solvent vapor. The effects of non-solvent vapor exposure on the molecular ordering and morphologies of the resultant P3HT films were systematically investigated using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, polarized optical microscopy (POM), grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The non-solvent vapor facilitates the π–π stacking in P3HT to minimize unfavorable interactions between the poor solvent molecules and P3HT chains. P3HT films deposited from the non-solvent vapor-treated P3HT solutions exhibited an approximately 5.6-fold improvement in charge carrier mobility as compared to that of pristine P3HT films (7.8 × 10−2 cm2 V−1 s−1 vs. 1.4 × 10−2 cm2 V−1 s−1). The robust and facile strategy presented herein would be applicable in various opto-electronics applications requiring precise control of the molecular assembly, such as organic photovoltaic cells, field-effect transistors, light-emitting diodes, and sensors.
Highlights
Semiconducting conjugated polymers (CPs) have drawn considerable attention as promising building blocks for use in opto-electronic applications including light-emitting diodes (LEDs) [1], organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) [2,3], and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) [4,5]
Exposure of the P3HT solution to methanol vapor vapor clearly facilitated the formation of crystalline nanofibrillar structures of P3HT via favorable π–π clearly facilitated the formation of crystalline nanofibrillar structures of P3HT via favorable π–π stacking between P3HT chains
The non-solvent vapor treatment profoundly impacted the molecular stacking between P3HT chains
Summary
Semiconducting conjugated polymers (CPs) have drawn considerable attention as promising building blocks for use in opto-electronic applications including light-emitting diodes (LEDs) [1], organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) [2,3], and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) [4,5]. Their key advantages such as low weight, flexibility, and solution processability may support the production of low-cost, large-area devices [6,7]. It is well known that amorphous regions hamper efficient charge transport between transport sites [14]
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