Issue |
Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys.
Volume 37, Number 3, March 2007
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | 283 - 286 | |
Section | Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap:2007001 | |
Published online | 17 January 2007 |
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap:2007001
Electronic and structural properties of poly-(3-octylthiophene) and graphitic nanoparticle blends*
1
Dep. de Electrónica, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30202 Cartagena, Spain
2
Dep. de Física, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Corresponding author: aurbina@upct.es
Received:
25
July
2006
Accepted:
20
November
2006
Published online:
17
January
2007
We have studied blends of poly-(3-octylthiophene) (P3OT) and graphitic nanoparticles by macroscopic transport measurements, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Force Microscopy (SFM) techniques. Their morphology as well as their mechanical and electrical properties have been characterized on a nanometer scale as a function of the carbon nanoparticle concentration in the blend. For intermediate concentrations (5–10% wt. of carbon nanoparticles) the samples present regions of pure poly-(3-octylthiophene) and round regions of polymer and carbon nanoparticles mixture, while for higher concentrations (>15% wt.) the whole sample is composed of this mixture. The interface between both regions is studied by Electrostatic Scanning Force Microscopy as a function of the applied tip-sample voltage finding evidence for the creation of new electronic states at the heterojunction. TEM images show crystalline domains of P3OT surrounded by amorphous regions. XRD measurements show that the crystallinity of the polymer increases when carbon nanoparticle concentration increases. The potential of this blends to improve the performance of organic solar cells when used as active layer is discussed.
PACS: 07.79.Lh – Atomic force microscopes / 82.35.Cd – Conducting polymers / 81.07.-b – Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization
© EDP Sciences, 2007
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.