Polymer crystallization as a tool to pattern hybrid nanostructures: growth of 12 nm ZnO arrays in poly(3-hexylthiophene).
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 23964899.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/nl4024275.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Well-ordered hybrid materials with a 10 nm length scale are highly desired. We make use of the natural length scale (typically 10-15 nm) of the alternating crystalline and amorphous layers that are generally found in semicrystalline polymers to direct the growth of a semiconducting metal oxide. This approach is exemplified with the growth of ZnO within a carboxylic acid end-functionalized poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT-COOH). The metal-oxide precursor vapors diffuse into the amorphous parts of the semicrystalline polymer so that sheets of ZnO up to 0.5 μm in size can be grown. This P3HT-ZnO nanostructure further functions as a donor-acceptor photovoltaic system, with length scales appropriate for charge photogeneration.