Rapid precipitation : an alternative to solvent casting for organic solar cells

Rapid precipitation, immersion of a liquid formulation into a nonsolvent, is compared with drop casting for fabricating organic solar cells. Blends comprising poly‐3‐hexylthiophene (P3HT), phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), and chlorobenzene were processed into bulk samples by using two distinct routes: rapid precipitation and drop casting. The resulting structure, phases, and crystallinity were analyzed by using small‐angle neutron scattering, X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and muon spin resonance. Rapid precipitation was found to induce a finely structured phase separation between PCBM and P3HT, with 65 wt % crystallinity in the P3HT phase. In contrast, solvent casting resulted in a mixed PCBM/P3HT phase with only 43 wt % P3HT crystallinity. The structural advantages conferred by rapid precipitation were shown to persist following intense thermal treatments

Préparation des fibres orientées et nanostructurées de polymères conjugués semiconducteurs à structure Shish Kebab

Le poly(3-hexylthiophène) régiorégulier (rr-P3HT) est l’un des matériaux phare pour les applications en électronique plastique. Afin d’améliorer les performances des dispositifs, il est important de comprendre et de contrôler la structure et la morphologie de la couche active. Des films minces de rr-P3HT cristallins et orientés peuvent être obtenus par epitaxie directionnelle par cristallisation (DEC) de 1,3,5-trichlorobenzène (TCB). Dans ce travail de thèse, nous présentons les avantages de la méthode DEC pour (i) déterminer la structure cristalline du rr-P3HT et pour (ii) étudier les fibres « shish-kebab », une morphologie alternative du rr-P3HT. La première partie de ce manuscrit consiste en l’analyse structurale par diffraction électronique de la forme I du P3HT obtenue dans les films epitaxiés. Afin d’affiner le modèle structural, nous avons fait varier la conformation des chaînes latérales. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons appliqué ce même protocole afin de résoudre la structure du second polymorphe du P3HT (forme II) grâce à l’obtention de monocristaux parself-seeding. La deuxième partie du manuscrit est consacrée à l’élaboration de fibres orientées dites en « shish-kebab » par épitaxie dans un mélange TCB/Pyridine. La cinétique de croissance ainsi que l’orientation des chaînes de P3HT sont étudiés afin d’optimiser la méthode de préparation des fibres. L’effet de la masse moléculaire sur leur formation a également été évalué. Finalement les propriétés de transport de charges au sein de ces fibres ont été étudiées grâce à l’élaboration de transistors à effet de champ.Regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (rr-P3HT) is one of the promising materials for plastic electronic applications. Understanding as well as controlling the structure and morphology of the active layer is essential to improve the device efficiency. Highly crystalline and highly oriented rr-P3HT thin films can be obtained via directional epitaxial crystallization (DEC) in 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene (TCB). In this dissertation, we present the benefits of DEC method to (i) determine the crystal structure of rr-P3HT and (ii) to study shish-kebab fibers, an alternative morphology of rr-P3HT. The first part of this dissertation is related to the structural analysis of rr-P3HT form-I by using electron diffraction analysis on the epitaxied film. Furthermore, the modification of side chain conformation is used to improve the structural model. Finally, the determination protocol is also applied to resolve the preliminary crystal structure of rr-P3HT form II prepared by self-seeding method. The second part of thisdissertation is related to highly oriented shish-kebab fibers of rr-P3HT prepared by epitaxial crystallization in a mixture of TCB and pyridine. The investigations of growth kinetics and orientation of P3HT chains in the fiber are performed in order to determine the optimization of preparation conditions and growth mechanism of the fibers. In addition, the effect of molecular weight on the formation of the fibers is investigated. Finally, the charge transport properties of the fibers are measured by using the field effect transistor configuration

Préparation des fibres orientées et nanostructurées de polymères conjugués semiconducteurs à structure Shish Kebab

Le poly(3-hexylthiophène) régiorégulier (rr-P3HT) est l’un des matériaux phare pour les applications en électronique plastique. Afin d’améliorer les performances des dispositifs, il est important de comprendre et de contrôler la structure et la morphologie de la couche active. Des films minces de rr-P3HT cristallins et orientés peuvent être obtenus par epitaxie directionnelle par cristallisation (DEC) de 1,3,5-trichlorobenzène (TCB). Dans ce travail de thèse, nous présentons les avantages de la méthode DEC pour (i) déterminer la structure cristalline du rr-P3HT et pour (ii) étudier les fibres « shish-kebab », une morphologie alternative du rr-P3HT. La première partie de ce manuscrit consiste en l’analyse structurale par diffraction électronique de la forme I du P3HT obtenue dans les films epitaxiés. Afin d’affiner le modèle structural, nous avons fait varier la conformation des chaînes latérales. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons appliqué ce même protocole afin de résoudre la structure du second polymorphe du P3HT (forme II) grâce à l’obtention de monocristaux parself-seeding. La deuxième partie du manuscrit est consacrée à l’élaboration de fibres orientées dites en « shish-kebab » par épitaxie dans un mélange TCB/Pyridine. La cinétique de croissance ainsi que l’orientation des chaînes de P3HT sont étudiés afin d’optimiser la méthode de préparation des fibres. L’effet de la masse moléculaire sur leur formation a également été évalué. Finalement les propriétés de transport de charges au sein de ces fibres ont été étudiées grâce à l’élaboration de transistors à effet de champ.Regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (rr-P3HT) is one of the promising materials for plastic electronic applications. Understanding as well as controlling the structure and morphology of the active layer is essential to improve the device efficiency. Highly crystalline and highly oriented rr-P3HT thin films can be obtained via directional epitaxial crystallization (DEC) in 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene (TCB). In this dissertation, we present the benefits of DEC method to (i) determine the crystal structure of rr-P3HT and (ii) to study shish-kebab fibers, an alternative morphology of rr-P3HT. The first part of this dissertation is related to the structural analysis of rr-P3HT form-I by using electron diffraction analysis on the epitaxied film. Furthermore, the modification of side chain conformation is used to improve the structural model. Finally, the determination protocol is also applied to resolve the preliminary crystal structure of rr-P3HT form II prepared by self-seeding method. The second part of thisdissertation is related to highly oriented shish-kebab fibers of rr-P3HT prepared by epitaxial crystallization in a mixture of TCB and pyridine. The investigations of growth kinetics and orientation of P3HT chains in the fiber are performed in order to determine the optimization of preparation conditions and growth mechanism of the fibers. In addition, the effect of molecular weight on the formation of the fibers is investigated. Finally, the charge transport properties of the fibers are measured by using the field effect transistor configuration

Préparation des fibres orientées et nanostructurées de polymères conjugués semiconducteurs à structure Shish Kebab

Le poly(3-hexylthiophène) régiorégulier (rr-P3HT) est l un des matériaux phare pour les applications en électronique plastique. Afin d améliorer les performances des dispositifs, il est important de comprendre et de contrôler la structure et la morphologie de la couche active. Des films minces de rr-P3HT cristallins et orientés peuvent être obtenus par epitaxie directionnelle par cristallisation (DEC) de 1,3,5-trichlorobenzène (TCB). Dans ce travail de thèse, nous présentons les avantages de la méthode DEC pour (i) déterminer la structure cristalline du rr-P3HT et pour (ii) étudier les fibres shish-kebab , une morphologie alternative du rr-P3HT. La première partie de ce manuscrit consiste en l analyse structurale par diffraction électronique de la forme I du P3HT obtenue dans les films epitaxiés. Afin d affiner le modèle structural, nous avons fait varier la conformation des chaînes latérales. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons appliqué ce même protocole afin de résoudre la structure du second polymorphe du P3HT (forme II) grâce à l obtention de monocristaux parself-seeding. La deuxième partie du manuscrit est consacrée à l élaboration de fibres orientées dites en shish-kebab par épitaxie dans un mélange TCB/Pyridine. La cinétique de croissance ainsi que l orientation des chaînes de P3HT sont étudiés afin d optimiser la méthode de préparation des fibres. L effet de la masse moléculaire sur leur formation a également été évalué. Finalement les propriétés de transport de charges au sein de ces fibres ont été étudiées grâce à l élaboration de transistors à effet de champ.Regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (rr-P3HT) is one of the promising materials for plastic electronic applications. Understanding as well as controlling the structure and morphology of the active layer is essential to improve the device efficiency. Highly crystalline and highly oriented rr-P3HT thin films can be obtained via directional epitaxial crystallization (DEC) in 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene (TCB). In this dissertation, we present the benefits of DEC method to (i) determine the crystal structure of rr-P3HT and (ii) to study shish-kebab fibers, an alternative morphology of rr-P3HT. The first part of this dissertation is related to the structural analysis of rr-P3HT form-I by using electron diffraction analysis on the epitaxied film. Furthermore, the modification of side chain conformation is used to improve the structural model. Finally, the determination protocol is also applied to resolve the preliminary crystal structure of rr-P3HT form II prepared by self-seeding method. The second part of thisdissertation is related to highly oriented shish-kebab fibers of rr-P3HT prepared by epitaxial crystallization in a mixture of TCB and pyridine. The investigations of growth kinetics and orientation of P3HT chains in the fiber are performed in order to determine the optimization of preparation conditions and growth mechanism of the fibers. In addition, the effect of molecular weight on the formation of the fibers is investigated. Finally, the charge transport properties of the fibers are measured by using the field effect transistor configuration.STRASBOURG-Bib.electronique 063 (674829902) / SudocSudocFranceF

Structural Characterization of Highly Oriented Naphthalene-Diimide-Bithiophene Copolymer Films via Vibrational Spectroscopy

Epitaxially grown highly oriented crystalline films, named form I and form II, and spin-coated films of poly{[N,N'-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximide)-2,6-diyl]-alt-5,5'-(2,2'-bithiophene)}, P(NDI2OD-T2), have been investigated through infrared vibrational spectroscopy techniques (infrared absorption in double transmission at normal incidence (IRA-TR) and reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy at grazing angle incidence (RAIRS)) to get access to polymer chain orientation and structure. An analytic model to correlate the experimental intensities of the IR bands with structural parameters has been developed and applied for the three film morphologies. While spin-coated and form I films show P(NDI2OD-T2) chains lying parallel to the substrate in the face-on arrangement, form II films feature a structure with chains tilted out from the surface. The combined experimental and theoretical methodology gives insights into the local molecular orientations of naphthalene diimide (NDI2OD) and bithiophene (T2) counits. This approach can be easily extended to a variety of organic polymer semiconductors, allowing one to directly correlate molecular structure to properties such as charge transport, which is of fundamental relevance for developing quantitative models for applications in organic electronics and photovoltaics

Structural Characterization of Highly Oriented Naphthalene-Diimide- Bithiophene Copolymer Films via Vibrational Spectroscopy

Epitaxially grown highly oriented crystalline films, named form I and form II, and spin-coated films of poly{[N,N'-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximide)-2,6-diyl]-alt-5,5'-(2,2'-bithiophene)}, P(NDI2OD-T2), have been investigated through infrared vibrational spectroscopy techniques (infrared absorption in double transmission at normal incidence (IRA-TR) and reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy at grazing angle incidence (RAIRS)) to get access to polymer chain orientation and structure. An analytic model to correlate the experimental intensities of the IR bands with structural parameters has been developed and applied for the three film morphologies. While spin-coated and form I films show P(NDI2OD-T2) chains lying parallel to the substrate in the face-on arrangement, form II films feature a structure with chains tilted out from the surface. The combined experimental and theoretical methodology gives insights into the local molecular orientations of naphthalene diimide (NDI2OD) and bithiophene (T2) counits. This approach can be easily extended to a variety of organic polymer semiconductors, allowing one to directly correlate molecular structure to properties such as charge transport, which is of fundamental relevance for developing quantitative models for applications in organic electronics and photovoltaics

The Decoration of ZnO Nanoparticles by Gamma Aminobutyric Acid, Curcumin Derivative and Silver Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Antibacterial Evaluation

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are applied in various applications in catalysis, biosensing, imaging, and as antibacterial agents. Here we prepared ZnO nanomaterials decorated by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), curcumin derivatives (CurBF2) and silver nanoparticles (CurBF2-AgNPs). The structures of all ZnO nanostructures were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–VIS spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Further, their antibacterial activities against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria were investigated through analysis of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. Among the prepared nanostructures, the ZnO NPs-GABA/CurBF2-AgNPs showed excellent antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. ZnO NPs fabricated here may have potential use in future anti-bacterial compositions and coatings technologies