title: Conjugated polymer composite nanoparticles by rapid mixing.
abstract: Composite nanoparticles from poly[(9,9-di-n-octylfluoren-2,7-diyl)-alt-(benzo[2,1,3]thiadiazol-4,8-diyl)] (F8BT) and poly(9,9-di-n-hexylfluoren-2,7-diyl) (PF) with embedded inorganic nanoparticles (TiO2 , CdSe, and CdSe/CdS) are prepared through kinetic trapping by rapid turbulent mixing in a multi-inlet vortex mixer without the need for polymer functionalization. High contents of inorganic materials up to 50-60 wt% are realized for all composites. The influence of flow ratios, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration, and absolute flow rates on the particle size and morphology is studied. High water-to-THF ratios and high total flow rates around 2 m s(-1) yield particle sizes below 50 nm. By adjusting these parameters, controlled particle sizes between 30 to several hundred nanometers are obtained. Composite particles from CdSe/CdS and F8BT or PF show a strong quenching of the polymer emission and near exclusive emission from the inorganic nanocrystal, which indicates an efficient energy transfer with fluorescence quantum yields of 23% for the F8BT/CdSe/CdS composites and 21% for the PF/CdSe/CdS composites. The dispersions are colloidally stable for several months.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätstrasse 10, D-78457, Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Tjaard
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: de Roo
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mecking
mesh_terms: D007700:Kinetics; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D012997:Solvents
keywords: conjugated polymers; fluorescence; hybrid particles; multi-inlet vortex mixers; quantum dots