Conjugated Polymer Chain and Crystallite Orientation Induced by Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Arrays

We report a method for controlling the orientations of conjugated polymers in the active layer of organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) by annealing the film at the melting temperature in a vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube (VA-CNT) template under various load pressures. Poly­(3-hexylthiophene) [P3HT] molecules are effectively aligned in the melting state annealing at 240 °C for 30 min, as a result of intermolecular π–π and CH₃–π interactions between the polymer and the VA-CNTs, which are separated from the conjugated polymer film after cooling to room temperature. In-plane and out-of-plane X-ray diffraction results show that the melt-annealed P3HT film with VA-CNTs has better crystallite ordering than a pristine 80 °C baked film and a melt-annealed film without VA-CNTs, and a larger number of crystallites in the treated P3HT film are oriented in the [100] direction, which is normal to the substrate. When we used the melt-aligned P3HT film with VA-CNTs as the active layer in OTFTs, the P3HT OTFT exhibits a better field-effect mobility value of 0.12 cm²/(V s) than a simply melt-annealed device without VA-CNTs [0.06 cm²/(V s)]

Highs and lows of lambing time: Sheep farmers? perceptions of the first outbreak of schmallenberg disease in south west England on their well-being

The outbreak of a previously unknown and new disease in the United Kingdom, known as ‘Schmallenberg disease’, a disease associated with abortions, stillbirths and fetal deformities in naïve ewes, was reported for the first time in South West England during the 2012/13 early lambing season. Epidemiological studies confirmed that the Schmallenberg virus (SBV) had a severe negative impact upon animal welfare and the productivity of affected flocks. By contrast, there was a specific lack of research on the impact of SBV on sheep farmer well-being. This study aimed to improve our understanding of sheep farmers’ experiences of Schmallenberg disease, and the impact of the first outbreak on sheep farmer well-being during the 2012/13 early lambing season in South West England. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with six farmers with small flocks of pedigree and purebred sheep in South West England were conducted in 2013. The data were analysed via thematic analysis. The main themes regarding the impact of disease on farmer well-being included: (i) emotional highs and lows are part of a normal lambing season; (ii) negative emotions and memories associated with the Schmallenberg disease outbreak; and (iii) resilience and coping with the unexpected disease outbreak. These novel data present preliminary findings from a small number of sheep farmers, and indicate that for some farmers, an unexpected outbreak of a new and emerging disease for the first time during lambing, and dealing with high levels of dystocia, deformities and deaths in their animals, had a negative impact on their emotional well-being during the peak period of the sheep production cycle

A Thienoisoindigo-Naphthalene Polymer with Ultrahigh Mobility of 14.4 cm²/V·s That Substantially Exceeds Benchmark Values for Amorphous Silicon Semiconductors

By considering the qualitative benefits associated with solution rheology and mechanical properties of polymer semiconductors, it is expected that polymer-based electronic devices will soon enter our daily lives as indispensable elements in a myriad of flexible and ultra low-cost flat panel displays. Despite more than a decade of research focused on designing and synthesizing state-of-the-art polymer semiconductors for improving charge transport characteristics, the current mobility values are still not sufficient for many practical applications. The confident mobility in excess of ∼10 cm²/V·s is the most important requirement for enabling the realization of the aforementioned near-future products. We report on an easily attainable donor–acceptor (D–A) polymer semiconductor: poly­(thienoisoindigo-<i>alt</i>-naphthalene) (PTIIG-Np). An unprecedented mobility of 14.4 cm²/V·s, by using PTIIG-Np with a high-<i>k</i> gate dielectric poly­(vinylidenefluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P­(VDF-TrFE)), is achieved from a simple coating processing, which is of a magnitude that is very difficult to obtain with conventional TFTs by means of molecular engineering. This work, therefore, represents a major step toward truly viable plastic electronics