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Todor-Boer O, Farcău C, Botiz I. Large Enhancement of Photoluminescence Obtained in Thin Polyfluorene Films of Optimized Microstructure. Polymers (Basel) 2024; 16:2278. [PMID: 39204498 PMCID: PMC11359287 DOI: 10.3390/polym16162278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2024] [Revised: 08/07/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
There is a clearly demonstrated relationship between the microstructure, processing and resulting optoelectronic properties of conjugated polymers. Here, we exploited this relationship by exposing polyfluorene thin films to various solvent vapors via confined-solvent vapor annealing to optimize their microstructure, with the final goal being to enhance their emission properties. Our results have demonstrated enlargements in photoluminescence intensity of up to 270%, 258% and 240% when thin films of polyfluorenes of average molecular weights of 105,491 g/mol, 63,114 g/mol and 14,000 g/mol, respectively, experienced increases in their β-phase fractions upon processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Otto Todor-Boer
- Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation Subsidiary, National Institute for Research and Development of Optoelectronics Bucharest INOE 2000, 67 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | - Cosmin Farcău
- National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies INCDTIM, 67-103 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
- Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400271 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Ioan Botiz
- Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400271 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Department of Physics of Condensed Matter and Advanced Technologies, Faculty of Physics, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Durand P, Zeng H, Jismy B, Boyron O, Heinrich B, Herrmann L, Bardagot O, Moutsios I, Mariasevskaia AV, Melnikov AP, Ivanov DA, Brinkmann M, Leclerc N. Controlling conjugated polymer morphology by precise oxygen position in single-ether side chains. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2024. [PMID: 39011761 DOI: 10.1039/d4mh00492b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
Recently, polar side chains have emerged as a functional tool to enhance conjugated polymer doping properties by improving the polymer miscibility with polar chemical dopants and facilitate solvated ion uptake. In this work, we design and investigate a novel family of side chains containing a single ether function, enabling the modulation of the oxygen atom position along the side chain. A meticulous investigation of this new polymer series by differential scanning calorimetry, fast scanning chip calorimetry and X-ray scattering shows that polymers bearing single-ether side chains can show high degree of crystallinity under proper conditions. Importantly, due to a gauche effect allowing the side chain to bend at the oxygen atom, the degree of crystallinity of polymers can be controlled by the position of the oxygen atom along the side chain. The further the oxygen atom is from the conjugated backbone, the more crystalline the polymer becomes. In addition, for all new polymers, high thermomechanical properties are demonstrated, leading to remarkable electrical conductivities and thermoelectric power factors in rub-aligned and sequentially doped thin films. This work confirms the potential of single-ether side chains to be used as polar solubilizing side chains for the design of a next generation of p- and n-type semiconducting polymers with increased affinity to polar dopants while maintaining high molecular order.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Durand
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ICPEES UMR 7515, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Huiyan Zeng
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ICS UPR 22, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Badr Jismy
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ICPEES UMR 7515, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Olivier Boyron
- Université de Lyon, CNRS, Laboratoire CP2M, UMR 5128, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Benoît Heinrich
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPCMS UMR 7504, F-67034 Strasbourg, France
| | - Laurent Herrmann
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ICS UPR 22, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Olivier Bardagot
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ICPEES UMR 7515, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Ioannis Moutsios
- Université de Mulhouse, CNRS, IS2M, UMR 7361, 15 Jean Starcky, Mulhouse 68057, France
| | - Alina V Mariasevskaia
- Faculty of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, 1-3 Leninskiye Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexey P Melnikov
- Faculty of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, 1-3 Leninskiye Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Dimitri A Ivanov
- Université de Mulhouse, CNRS, IS2M, UMR 7361, 15 Jean Starcky, Mulhouse 68057, France
- Faculty of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, 1-3 Leninskiye Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Martin Brinkmann
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ICS UPR 22, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Nicolas Leclerc
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ICPEES UMR 7515, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
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3
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Burke C, Makki H, Troisi A. From Chemical Drawing to Electronic Properties of Semiconducting Polymers in Bulk: A Tool for Chemical Discovery. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:4019-4028. [PMID: 38642040 PMCID: PMC11099970 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
A quantum chemistry (QC)/molecular dynamics (MD) scheme is developed to calculate electronic properties of semiconducting polymers in three steps: (i) constructing the polymer force field through a unified workflow, (ii) equilibrating polymer models, and (iii) calculating electronic structure properties (e.g., density of states and localization length) from the equilibrated models by QC approaches. Notably, as the second step of this scheme is generally the most time-consuming one, we introduce an alternative method to compute thermally averaged electronic properties in bulk, based on the simulation of a polymer chain in the solution of its repeat units, which is shown to reproduce the microstructure of polymer chains and their electrostatic effect (successfully tested for five benchmark polymers) 10 times faster than state-of-the-art methods. In fact, this scheme offers a consistent and speedy way of estimating electronic properties of polymers from their chemical drawings, thus ensuring the availability of a homogeneous set of simulations to derive structure-property relationships and material design principles. As an example, we show how the electrostatic effect of the polymer chain environment can disturb the localized electronic states at the band tails and how this effect is more significant in the case of diketopyrrolopyrrole polymers as compared to indacenodithiophene and dithiopheneindenofluorene ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colm Burke
- Department of Chemistry and
Materials Innovation Factory, University
of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, U.K.
| | - Hesam Makki
- Department of Chemistry and
Materials Innovation Factory, University
of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, U.K.
| | - Alessandro Troisi
- Department of Chemistry and
Materials Innovation Factory, University
of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZD, U.K.
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Senila L, Botiz I, Roman C, Simedru D, Dan M, Kacso I, Senila M, Todor-Boer O. Processing of Thin Films Based on Cellulose Nanocrystals and Biodegradable Polymers by Space-Confined Solvent Vapor Annealing and Morphological Characteristics. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 17:1685. [PMID: 38612198 PMCID: PMC11012654 DOI: 10.3390/ma17071685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
L-poly(lactic acid), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), and poly-hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate are biodegradable polymers that can be obtained from renewable biomass sources. The aim of this study was to develop three types of environmentally friendly film biocomposites of altered microstructure by combining each of the above-mentioned polymers with cellulose nanocrystal fillers and further processing the resulting materials via space-confined solvent vapor annealing. Cellulose was previously obtained from renewable biomass and further converted to cellulose nanocrystals by hydrolysis with the lactic acid. The solutions of biodegradable polymers were spin-coated onto solid substrates before and after the addition of cellulose nanocrystals. The obtained thin film composites were further processed via space-confined solvent vapor annealing to eventually favor their crystallization and, thus, to alter the final microstructure. Indeed, atomic force microscopy studies have revealed that the presence of cellulose nanocrystals within a biodegradable polymer matrix promoted the formation of large crystalline structures exhibiting fractal-, spherulitic- or needle-like morphologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lacrimioara Senila
- Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation Subsidiary, National Institute for Research and Development of Optoelectronics Bucharest INOE 2000, 67 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (L.S.); (C.R.); (D.S.)
| | - Ioan Botiz
- Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400271 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
- Department of Physics of Condensed Matter and Advanced Technologies, Faculty of Physics, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Cecilia Roman
- Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation Subsidiary, National Institute for Research and Development of Optoelectronics Bucharest INOE 2000, 67 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (L.S.); (C.R.); (D.S.)
| | - Dorina Simedru
- Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation Subsidiary, National Institute for Research and Development of Optoelectronics Bucharest INOE 2000, 67 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (L.S.); (C.R.); (D.S.)
| | - Monica Dan
- National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 67-103 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (M.D.); (I.K.)
| | - Irina Kacso
- National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 67-103 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (M.D.); (I.K.)
| | - Marin Senila
- Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation Subsidiary, National Institute for Research and Development of Optoelectronics Bucharest INOE 2000, 67 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (L.S.); (C.R.); (D.S.)
| | - Otto Todor-Boer
- Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation Subsidiary, National Institute for Research and Development of Optoelectronics Bucharest INOE 2000, 67 Donath Street, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (L.S.); (C.R.); (D.S.)
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Babutan I, Todor-Boer O, Atanase LI, Vulpoi A, Botiz I. Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers in Thin Films Swollen-Rich in Solvent Vapors. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15081900. [PMID: 37112047 PMCID: PMC10145245 DOI: 10.3390/polym15081900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study we have employed a polymer processing method based on solvent vapor annealing in order to condense relatively large amounts of solvent vapors onto thin films of block copolymers and thus to promote their self-assembly into ordered nanostructures. As revealed by the atomic force microscopy, a periodic lamellar morphology of poly(2-vinylpyridine)-b-polybutadiene and an ordered morphology comprised of hexagonally-packed structures made of poly(2-vinylpyridine)-b-poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate) were both successfully generated on solid substrates for the first time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iulia Babutan
- Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400271 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Faculty of Physics, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Otto Todor-Boer
- INCDO-INOE 2000, Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Leonard Ionut Atanase
- Department of Biomaterials, Faculty of Medical Dentistry, "Apollonia" University of Iasi, 700511 Iasi, Romania
- Academy of Romanian Scientists, 050045 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Adriana Vulpoi
- Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400271 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Ioan Botiz
- Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400271 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Faculty of Physics, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Wenzel FA, Welz H, van der Zwan KP, Stäter S, Kreger K, Hildner R, Senker J, Schmidt HW. Highly Efficient Supramolecular Nucleating Agents for Poly(3-hexylthiophene). Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c02283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Felix A. Wenzel
- Macromolecular Chemistry I and Bavarian Polymer Institute, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Hannes Welz
- Macromolecular Chemistry I and Bavarian Polymer Institute, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Kasper P. van der Zwan
- Inorganic Chemistry III, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Sebastian Stäter
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Klaus Kreger
- Macromolecular Chemistry I and Bavarian Polymer Institute, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Richard Hildner
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jürgen Senker
- Inorganic Chemistry III, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Hans-Werner Schmidt
- Macromolecular Chemistry I and Bavarian Polymer Institute, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
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