Fully Aromatic Thermotropic Copolyesters Based on Vanillic, Hydroxybenzoic, and Hydroxybiphenylcarboxylic Acids

Several series of new polymers were synthesized in this study: binary copolyesters of vanillic (VA) and 4'-hydroxybiphenyl-4-carboxylic (HBCA) acids, as well as ternary copolyesters additionally containing 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and obtained via three different ways (in solution, in melt, and in solid state). The high values of logarithmic intrinsic viscosities and the insolubility of several samples proved their high molecular weights. It was found that the use of vanillic acid leads to the production of copolyesters with a relatively high glass transition temperature (~130 °C). Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the onset of weight loss temperatures of ternary copolyesters occurred at 330-350 °C, and the temperature of 5% mass loss was in the range of 390-410 °C. Two-stage thermal destruction was observed for all aromatic copolyesters of vanillic acid: decomposition began with VA units at 420-480 °C, and then the decomposition of more heat-resistant units took place above 520 °C. The copolyesters were thermotropic and exhibited a typical nematic type of liquid crystalline order. The mechanical characteristics of the copolyesters were similar to those of semi-aromatic copolyesters, but they were much lower than the typical values for fully aromatic thermotropic polymers. Thus, vanillic acid is a mesogenic monomer suitable for the synthesis of thermotropic fully aromatic and semi-aromatic copolyesters, but the processing temperature must not exceed 280 °C.

Widely applicable coinage metal window electrodes on flexible polyester substrates applied to organic photovoltaics

The fabrication, exceptional properties, and application of 8 nm thick Cu, Ag, Au, and Cu/Ag bilayer electrodes on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrates is reported. These electrodes are fabricated using a solvent free process in which the plastic surface is chemically modified with a molecular monolayer of thiol and amine terminated alkylsilanes prior to metal deposition. The resulting electrodes have a sheet resistance of ≤14 Ω sq⁻¹, are exceptionally robust and can be rapidly thermally annealed at 200 °C to reduce their sheet resistance to ≤9 Ω sq⁻¹. Notably, annealing Au electrodes briefly at 200 °C causes the surface to revert almost entirely to the {111} face, rendering it ideal as a model electrode for fundamental science and practical application alike. The power conversion efficiency of 1 cm² organic photovoltaics (OPVs) employing 8 nm Ag and Au films as the hole-extracting window electrode exhibit performance comparable to those on indium-tin oxide, with the advantage that they are resistant to repeated bending through a small radius of curvature and are chemically well-defined. OPVs employing Cu and bilayer Cu:Ag electrodes exhibit inferior performance due to a lower open-circuit voltage and fill factor. Measurements of the interfacial energetics made using the Kelvin probe technique provide insight into the physical reason for this difference. The results show how coinage metal electrodes offer a viable alternative to ITO on flexible substrates for OPVs and highlight the challenges associated with the use of Cu as an electrode material in this context.