Nanoimprint-induced molecular orientation in semiconducting polymer nanostructures.

Hlaing, Htay; Lu, Xinhui; Hofmann, Tommy; Yager, Kevin G; Black, Charles T; Ocko, Benjamin M · ACS Nano · 2011

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The morphology and orientation of thin films of the polymer poly-3(hexylthiophene)-important parameters influencing electronic and photovoltaic device performance-have been significantly altered through nanoimprinting with 100 nm spaced grooves. Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering studies demonstrate the excellent fidelity of the pattern transfer, while wide-angle scattering convincingly shows an imprinting-induced π-π reorientation and polymer backbone alignment along the imprinted grooves. Surprisingly, temperature-dependent scattering measurements indicate that the imprinted induced orientation and alignment remain intact even at temperatures where the imprinted topographical features nearly vanish.