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Ma G, Li Z, Fang L, Xia W, Gu X. Effect of solvent quality and sidechain architecture on conjugated polymer chain conformation in solution. NANOSCALE 2024. [PMID: 38465951 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr05721f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Conjugated polymers (CPs) are solution-processible for various electronic applications, where solution aggregation and dynamics could impact the morphology in the solid state. Various solvents and solvent mixtures have been used to dissolve and process CPs, but few studies have quantified the effect of solvent quality on the solution behavior of CPs. Herein, we performed static light scattering and small-angle X-ray scattering combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to investigate CP solution behaviors with solvents of varying quality, including poly(3-alkylthiophene) (P3ATs) with various sidechain lengths from -C4H9 to -C12H25, poly[bis(3-dodecyl-2-thienyl)-2,2'-dithiophene-5,5'-diyl] (PQT-12) and poly[2,5-bis(3-dodecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene] (PBTTT-12). We found that chlorobenzene is a better solvent than toluene for various CPs, which was evident from the positive second virial coefficient A2 ranging from 0.3 to 4.7 × 10-3 cm3 mol g-2 towards P3ATs. For P3ATs in non-polar solvents, longer sidechains promote more positive A2, indicating a better polymer-solvent interaction, wherein A2 for toluene increases from -5.9 to 1.4 × 10-3 cm3 mol g-2, and in CB, A2 ranges from 1.0 to 4.7 × 10-3 cm3 mol g-2 when sidechain length increases from -C6H13 to -C12H25. Moreover, PQT-12 and PBTTT-12 have strong aggregation tendencies in all solutions, with an apparent positive A2 (∼0.5 × 10-3 cm3 mol g-2) due to multi-chain aggregates and peculiar chain folding. These solvent-dependent aggregation behaviors can be well correlated to spectroscopy measurement results. Our coarse-grained MD simulation results further suggested that CPs with long, dense, and branched sidechains can achieve enhanced polymer-solvent interaction, and thus enable overall better solution dispersion. This work provides quantitative insights into the solution behavior of conjugated polymers that can guide both the design and process of CPs toward next-generation organic electronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guorong Ma
- School of Polymer Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, 39406, USA.
| | - Zhaofan Li
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Lei Fang
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - Wenjie Xia
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Xiaodan Gu
- School of Polymer Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, 39406, USA.
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Zhang B, Pinky SK, Kwansa AL, Ferguson S, Yingling YG, Stiff-Roberts AD. Correlation of Emulsion Chemistry, Film Morphology, and Device Performance in Polyfluorene LEDs Deposited by RIR-MAPLE. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:18153-18165. [PMID: 36988336 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c03012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Thin films of polyfluorene (PFO) were deposited using emulsion-based resonant infrared, matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIR-MAPLE). Here, it is shown that properly selected surfactant chemistry in the emulsion can increase crystalline β phase (β-PFO) content and consequently improve the color purity of light emission. To determine the impact of surfactant on the device performance of resulting films, blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with PFO as an active region were fabricated and compared. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to explain the physical and chemical changes in the emulsion properties as a function of the surfactant. The results indicate that the experimental film morphology and device performance are highly correlated to the emulsion droplet micelle structure and interaction energy among PFO, primary solvent, and water obtained from MD simulations. While the champion device performance was lower than other reported devices (luminous flux ∼0.0206 lm, brightness ∼725.58 cd/m2, luminous efficacy ∼0.0548 lm/W, and luminous efficiency ∼0.174 cd/A), deep blue emission with good color purity (CIE chromaticity diagram coordinate of (0.177,0.141)) was achieved for low operating voltages around 3 V. Furthermore, a much higher β-phase content of 21% was achieved in annealed films (without the pinholes typically found in β-PFO deposited by other techniques) by using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the surfactant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Buang Zhang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
| | - Sabila K Pinky
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606, United States
| | - Albert L Kwansa
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606, United States
| | - Spencer Ferguson
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
| | - Yaroslava G Yingling
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606, United States
| | - Adrienne D Stiff-Roberts
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
- University Program in Materials Science and Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
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Liu B, He L, Li M, Yu N, Chen W, Wang S, Sun L, Ni M, Bai L, Pan W, Sun P, Lin J, Huang W. Improving the Intrinsic Stretchability of Fully Conjugated Polymer for Deep-Blue Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes with a Narrow Band Emission: Benefits of Self-Toughness Effect. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:7286-7295. [PMID: 35916779 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c02071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
It is challenging to construct the intrinsically stretchable active layer of rigid conjugated polymers (CPs) toward flexible deep-blue light-emitting diodes (FLEDs). Inspired by the self-toughness effect, sacrificial hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) and a cross-linked network synergistically enabled polydiarylfluorene (PFs-NH) films to present efficient deep-blue emission and excellent intrinsic stretchability. In particular, a cross-linked network structure presenting viscoelasticity behaviors, which was successfully inherited into postprocessed films with interchain interpenetration and a crystallinity domain and behaved as energy absorption and dissipation centers, was induced by the interchain H-bonding interaction in toluene (Tol) precursor solutions where the storage moduli (G') gradually exceeded the loss moduli (G″). Subsequently, intrinsic stretchable films with a tensile rate of 30% were prepared from Tol solutions, different from the brittle films from polar solvents. Eventually, narrow band, deep-blue PLEDs showed a maximum EQE of 1.28% and a full width half-maximum (fwhm) of 28 nm. Therefore, the self-toughness effect induced by hierarchical structures will be feasible to obtain high-performance FLEDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLoFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Liangliang He
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLoFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Mengyuan Li
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLoFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Ningning Yu
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLoFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Wenyu Chen
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLoFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Shengjie Wang
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLoFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Lili Sun
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLoFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Mingjian Ni
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLoFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Lubing Bai
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics & Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE), Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), Xi'an 710072, China
| | - Weichun Pan
- School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, 18 Xuezheng Road, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Pengfei Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Jinyi Lin
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLoFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Wei Huang
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLoFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics & Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE), Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), Xi'an 710072, China
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210023, China
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Based on the Second Virial Coefficient (A2) to Study Effect of the Synergistic Action of Solvent and External Electric Field on the Solution Behavior and Film’s Condensed State Structure. CHINESE JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10118-022-2687-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Li T, He Q, Guan Y, Liao J, He Y, Luo X, Cao W, Cui Z, Jia S, Liu A, Yao S, Guan X, Zhang H, Lu D. Influence of molecular weight and the change of solvent solubility on β conformation and chains condensed state structure for poly (9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) in solution. POLYMER 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2021.124471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Kurioka T, Komamura T, Shida N, Hayakawa T, Tomita I, Inagi S. Ordered‐Structure‐Induced Electrochemical Post‐Functionalization of Poly(3‐(2‐ethylhexyl)thiophene). MACROMOL CHEM PHYS 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/macp.202100435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tomoyuki Kurioka
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology Tokyo Institute of Technology 4259 Nagatsuta‐cho Midori‐ku Yokohama 226–8502 Japan
| | - Takahiro Komamura
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology Tokyo Institute of Technology 2‐12‐1 Ookayama Meguro‐ku Tokyo 152–8552 Japan
| | - Naoki Shida
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering Yokohama National University 79‐5 Tokiwadai Hodogaya‐ku Yokohama 240–8501 Japan
| | - Teruaki Hayakawa
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology Tokyo Institute of Technology 2‐12‐1 Ookayama Meguro‐ku Tokyo 152–8552 Japan
| | - Ikuyoshi Tomita
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology Tokyo Institute of Technology 4259 Nagatsuta‐cho Midori‐ku Yokohama 226–8502 Japan
| | - Shinsuke Inagi
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology Tokyo Institute of Technology 4259 Nagatsuta‐cho Midori‐ku Yokohama 226–8502 Japan
- PRESTO Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) 4‐1‐8 Honcho Kawaguchi Saitama 332‐0012 Japan
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Wang L, Rothberg L. Complications in the Interpretation of F8T2 Spectra in Terms of Morphology. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:5660-5666. [PMID: 34008981 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c02701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Photophysical properties of conjugated polymers strongly correlate with chain morphology and interactions between chains. Here, we observed two characteristic types of spectra of poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-alt-co-(bithiophene)] (F8T2) in both single-chain and bulk cases. Despite the similarities in emission spectra, fluorescence dynamics and intensities corresponding to each type of spectrum are radically different in these cases. We hypothesize that the origin of the spectrum with a suppressed 0-0 vibronic band in photoluminescence is chain bending in the single-chain experiments, while the same phenomenon is caused by interchain aggregation in bulk samples. We propose a microscopic interpretation of the single-chain result in terms of bending that we expect to be characteristic of flexible conjugated polymers with five-membered rings. Caution must be exercised in drawing inferences about the meaning of single-chain spectra by analogy with bulk data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liwei Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
| | - Lewis Rothberg
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, United States
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Zhang H, Li T, Liu B, Ma TN, Huang L, Bai ZM, Lu D. Effect and Mechanism of Solvent Properties on Solution Behavior and Films Condensed State Structure for the Semi-rigid Conjugated Polymers. CHINESE JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10118-021-2555-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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