scholarly journals Fabrication of PCDTBT Conductive Network via Phase Separation

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 5071
Author(s):  
Jianwei Xu ◽  
Zhiming Liu ◽  
Lei Jing ◽  
Jingbo Chen

Poly[N-9′-hepta-decanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5-5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT) is a stable semiconducting polymer with high rigidity in its molecular chains, which makes it difficult to organize into an ordered structure and affects the device performance. Here, a PCDTBT network consisting of aggregates and nanofibers in thin films was fabricated through the phase separation of mixed PCDTBT and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), the effect of the blending conditions (weight ratio, solution concentration, and molecular weight) and processing conditions (substrate temperature and solvent) on the resulting phase-separated morphologies of the blend films after a selective washing procedure was studied. It was found that the phase-separated structure’s transition from an island to a continuous structure occurred when the weight ratio of PCDTBT/PEG changed from 2:8 to 7:3. Increasing the solution concentration from 0.1 to 3.0 wt-% led to an increase in both the height of the PCDTBT aggregate and the width of the nanofiber. When the molecular weight of the PEG was increased, the film exhibited a larger PCDTBT aggregate size. Meanwhile, denser nanofibers were found in films prepared using PCDTBT with higher molecular weight_. Furthermore, the electrical characteristics of the PCDTBT network were measured using conductive AFM. Our findings suggest that phase separation plays an important role in improving the molecular chain diffusion rate and fabricating the PCDTBT network.

2000 ◽  
Vol 629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan S. Schulze ◽  
Timothy P. Lodge ◽  
Christopher W. Macosko

ABSTRACTThe reaction of perdeuterated amino-terminal polystyrene (dPS-NH2) with anhydrideterminal poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA-anh) at a PS/PMMA interface has been observed with forward recoil spectrometry (FRES). Bilayer samples were constructed by placing thin films of PS containing ∼8.5 wt % dPS-NH2 on a PMMA-anh layer. Significant reaction was observed only after annealing the samples at 174°C for several hours, a time scale at least two orders of magnitude greater than the time required for the dPS-NH2 chains to diffuse through the bulk PS layer. The topography of the interfacial region as copolymer formed was measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Roughening of the PS/PMMA interface was observed to varying degrees in all annealed samples. Furthermore, the extent of this roughening was found to depend on the PS matrix molecular weight. Reaction in the samples with a high molecular weight PS matrix resulted in a root mean square roughness approximately equal to the radius of gyration Rg of the copolymer. However, approximately twice as much roughening was observed in the low molecular weight PS matrix. This study reveals how the molecular weight of one of the phases can affect the rate of reaction at a polymer/polymer interface.


2002 ◽  
Vol 716 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Jacques ◽  
S. Petitdidier ◽  
J.L. Regolini ◽  
K. Barla

AbstractOxide/Nitride dielectric stack is widely used as the standard dielectric for DRAM capacitors. The influence of the chemical cleaning prior to the stack formation has been studied in this work. As a result, morphological data such as stack surface roughness (Atomic Force Microscopy) and silicon nitride (SiN) incubation time for growth are comparable for all the studied cases on <Si>. However, Tof-SIMS exhibits different oxygen content at the Si/stack interface following the different chemical treatments. Electrical measurements show comparable C-V and I-V results, for the same Equivalent Oxide Thickness (same capacitance at strong accumulation i.e.-3V) while the different studied interfaces bring different interface states density with lower values for higher interfacial oxygen content. For DRAM applications, a clear improvement in electrical characteristics is obtained under low interfacial oxygen content conditions. Results are compared in embedded-DRAM cells for which we developed an industrially compatible dielectric deposition sequence to obtain minimum leakage current with maximum specific capacitance and no particular linking constraints.


2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-658
Author(s):  
Andrei Bejan ◽  
Dragos Peptanariu ◽  
Bogdan Chiricuta ◽  
Elena Bicu ◽  
Dalila Belei

Microfibers were obtained from organic low molecular weight compounds based on heteroaromatic and aromatic rings connected by aliphatic spacers. The obtaining of microfibers was proved by scanning electron microscopy. The deciphering of the mechanism of microfiber formation has been elucidated by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy measurements. By exciting with light of different wavelength, florescence microscopy revealed a specific optical response, recommending these materials for light sensing applications.


2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 624
Author(s):  
Michael J. Serpe ◽  
Jason R. Whitehead ◽  
Stephen L. Craig

Single molecule atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of oligonucleotide-based supramolecular polymers on surfaces are used to examine the molecular weight distribution of the polymers formed between a functionalized surface and an AFM tip as a function of monomer concentration. For the concentrations examined here, excellent agreement with a multi-stage open association model of polymerization is obtained, without the need to invoke additional contributions from secondary steric interactions at the surface.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Homa Maleki ◽  
Hossein Barani

AbstractThe stereocomplex formation is a promising method to improve the properties of poly(lactide) (PLA)-based products due to the strong interaction of the side-by-side arrangement of the molecular chains. Recently, electrospinning method has been applied to prepare PLA stereocomplex, which is more convenient. The objective of the current study is to make stereocomplexed PLA nanofibers using electrospinning method and compare their properties and structures with pure poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) fibers. The stereocomplexed fibers were electrospun from a blend solution of high molecular weight PLLA and poly(d-lactide) (1:1 ratio). The morphology of the obtained electrospun fibers was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Differential scanning calorimetry was applied to study their thermal properties and crystallinity. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) test was conducted on the samples to characterize their chemical properties. The SEM and AFM images indicated that smooth uniform fibers with a cylindrical structure were produced. Besides, the FTIR results and thermal properties confirmed that only stereocomplex crystallites formed in the resulting fibers via the electrospinning method.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Mardi ◽  
Marialilia Pea ◽  
Andrea Notargiacomo ◽  
Narges Yaghoobi Nia ◽  
Aldo Di Carlo ◽  
...  

Organic materials have been found to be promising candidates for low-temperature thermoelectric applications. In particular, poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) has been attracting great interest due to its desirable intrinsic properties, such as excellent solution processability, chemical and thermal stability, and high field-effect mobility. However, its poor electrical conductivity has limited its application as a thermoelectric material. It is therefore important to improve the electrical conductivity of P3HT layers. In this work, we studied how molecular weight (MW) influences the thermoelectric properties of P3HT films. The films were doped with lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) imide salt (LiTFSI) and 4-tert butylpyridine (TBP). Various P3HT layers with different MWs ranging from 21 to 94 kDa were investigated. UV–Vis spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis were performed to investigate the morphology and structure features of thin films with different MWs. The electrical conductivity initially increased when the MW increased and then decreased at the highest MW, whereas the Seebeck coefficient had a trend of reducing as the MW grew. The maximum thermoelectric power factor (1.87 μW/mK2) was obtained for MW of 77 kDa at 333 K. At this temperature, the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of this MW were 65.5 S/m and 169 μV/K, respectively.


Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Nanni ◽  
José A. Heredia-Guerrero ◽  
Uttam C. Paul ◽  
Silvia Dante ◽  
Gianvito Caputo ◽  
...  

Poly(furfuryl alcohol) (PFA) is a bioresin synthesized from furfuryl alcohol (FA) that is derived from renewable saccharide-rich biomass. In this study, we compounded this bioresin with polycaprolactone (PCL) for the first time, introducing new functional polymer blends. Although PCL is biodegradable, its production relies on petroleum precursors such as cyclohexanone oils. With the method proposed herein, this dependence on petroleum-derived precursors/monomers is reduced by using PFA without significantly modifying some important properties of the PCL. Polymer blend films were produced by simple solvent casting. The blends were characterized in terms of surface topography by atomic force microscopy (AFM), chemical interactions between PCL and PFA by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), crystallinity by XRD, thermal properties by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and mechanical properties by tensile tests and biocompatibility by direct and indirect toxicity tests. PFA was found to improve the gas barrier properties of PCL without compromising its mechanical properties, and it demonstrated sustained antioxidant effect with excellent biocompatibility. Our results indicate that these new blends can be potentially used in diverse applications ranging from food packing to biomedical devices.


2004 ◽  
Vol 830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alokik Kanwal ◽  
Shashi Paul ◽  
Manish Chhowalla

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we describe an all organic molecular memory device that combines the advantages of molecular and organic electronics. We accomplish this by combining C60 molecules with poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP) and co-dissolving them in iso-propanol. The current-voltage measurements show a large hysteresis in the blend devices, in contrast to pure PVP devices. The thin blend films have been thoroughly characterized using Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.


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