Enhancement of Charge-Transport Characteristics in Polymeric Films Using Polymer Brushes

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 6; no. 3; pp. 573 - 578
• Main Authors: Whiting, Gregory L, Snaith, Henry J, Khodabakhsh, Saghar, Andreasen, Jens W, Breiby, Dag W, Nielsen, Martin M, Greenham, Neil C, Friend, Richard H, Huck, Wilhelm T. S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01.03.2006
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Electronic transport phenomena in thin films and low-dimensional structures; Exact sciences and technology; Physics; Structure and morphology; thickness; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Thin film structure and morphology; Thin films; Electrical properties; Polymer films; Microstructure; Polymers; Current density; Stretching; Conformation
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl051803t

We show that charge-transporting polymer chains in the brush conformation can be synthesized from a variety of substrates of interest, displaying a high degree of stretching and showing up to a 3 orders of magnitude increase in current density normal to the substrate as compared with a spin-coated film. These nanostructured polymeric films may prove to be suitable for electronic devices based on molecular semiconductors as current fabrication techniques often provide little control over film structure.