title: Generation of native polythiophene/PCBM composite nanoparticles via the combination of ultrasonic micronization of droplets and thermocleaving from aqueous dispersion.
abstract: We report the preparation of native polythiophene (n-PT)/[6, 6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) composite nanoparticles from a poly[3-(2-methylhex-2-yl)oxy-carbonyldithiophene] (P3MHOCT)/PCBM aqueous dispersion prepared from an ultrasonically generated emulsion. The subsequent steps involve both ultrasonic generation of microdroplets in argon as a carrier gas and drying followed by thermocleaving of the P3MHOCT component in the gas phase. The chemical transition from P3MHOCT to n-PT was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The morphology and size of n-PT/PCBM nanoparticles were determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and grazing incidence SAXS (GISAXS), giving an average size of ∼ 140 nm. The GISAXS results reveal that n-PT/PCBM nanoparticles pack in an ordered structure as opposed to the P3MHOCT/PCBM nanoparticles. The successful vapour-phase preparation of phase-separated n-PT/PCBM nanoparticles provides a new route to all-aqueous processing of conjugated materials relevant to efficient polymer solar cells with long operational stability. The use of ultrasound was involved in both liquid and gas phases demonstrating it as a low-cost processing method.
authors: Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark.
authors: Ya-Xiong
authors: YX
authors: Nan
authors: Xiao-Lian
authors: XL
authors: Hu
authors: Thue T
authors: TT
authors: Larsen-Olsen
authors: Birgitta
authors: B
authors: Andreasen
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Tromholt
authors: Jens W
authors: JW
authors: Andreasen
authors: David M
authors: DM
authors: Tanenbaum
authors: Hong-Zheng
authors: HZ
authors: Chen
authors: Frederik C
authors: FC
authors: Krebs