Semiconducting end-perfluorinated P3HT–fullerenic hybrids as potential additives for P3HT/IC70BA blends

An efficient route to synthesise hybrid polymers consisting of a semiconducting polymer and a fullerene unit, for BHJ OPV devices is presented herein. The synthetic procedure is based on the in situ functionalisation of regioregular polythiophenes of various molecular weights with perfluorophenyl moieties at the ω end position of the polymeric chains, after the GRIM polymerisation reaction. Each of the perfluorophenyl moieties is then decorated with an azide group, and employed in a [3+2] cycloaddition reaction with fullerene species, i.e. C70 or IC70MA, yielding P3HT-fullerene hybrids covalently linked via aziridine bridges. The effectiveness of the purification procedures of the above organic and hybrid materials were evaluated by extended spectroscopic and chromatographic methods. The optical and electrochemical characterisation of the resulting hybrid structures revealed that the unique optoelectronic properties of the P3HT polymers are retained in the hybrid materials. Whereas the morphological properties are largely affected by the introduction of the C70 and IC70MA fullerenes. The enhanced and tunable nanophase separation observed in the polymerfullerene hybrid films coupled with their excellent optoelectronic properties makes them exciting potential polymeric additives for the P3HT:IC70BA active blends

Tailoring the Surface Chemistry of PEDOT:PSS to Promote Supported Lipid Bilayer Formation

This communication reports on a versatile and substrate-agnostic method to tune the surface chemistry of conducting polymers with the aim of bridging the chemical mismatch between bioelectronic devices and biological systems. As a proof of concept, the surface of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is grafted with a short-chain oligoethylene glycol monolayer to favor the formation of cell-derived supported lipid bilayers (SLBs). This method is tuned to optimize the affinity between the supported lipid bilayer and the conducting polymer, leading to significant improvements in bilayer quality and therefore electronic readouts. To validate the impact of surface functionalization on the system's ability to transduce biological phenomena into quantifiable electronic signals, the activity of a virus commonly used as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 (mouse hepatitis virus) is monitored with and without surface treatment. The functionalized devices exhibit significant improvements in electronic output, stemming from the improved SLB quality, therefore strengthening the case for the use of such an approach in membrane-on-a-chip systems

Synthesis of luminescent rod-coil block copolymers using atom transfer radical polymerization

The synthesis of luminescent rod-coil diblock and coil-rod-coil triblock copolymers containing oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene) as the rodlike block and polystyrene as the coil was achieved via atom transfer radical polymerization using oligo(p- phenyleneethynylene)s as the initiators substituted with 2- halogenopropionyloxy or 4-(bromomethyl)benzyloxy groups

Synthesis of Polythiophene–Fullerene Hybrid Additives as Potential Compatibilizers of BHJ Active Layers

Perfluorophenyl functionalities have been introduced as side chain substituents onto regioregular poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (rr-P3HT), under various percentages. These functional groups were then converted to azides which were used to create polymeric hybrid materials with fullerene species, either C60 or C70. The P3HT–fullerene hybrids thus formed were thereafter evaluated as potential compatibilizers of BHJ active layers comprising P3HT and fullerene based acceptors. Therefore, a systematic investigation of the optical and morphological properties of the purified polymer–fullerene hybrid materials was performed, via different complementary techniques. Additionally, P3HT:PC70BM blends containing various percentages of the herein synthesized hybrid material comprising rr-P3HT and C70 were investigated via Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) in an effort to understand the effect of the hybrids as additives on the morphology and nanophase separation of this typically used active layer blend for OPVs