Phase-separated thin film structures for efficient polymer blend light-emitting diodes.

We report laterally and vertically phase-separated thin film structures in conjugated polymer blends created by polymer molecular weight variation. We find that micrometer-scale lateral phase separation is critical in achieving high initial device efficiency of light-emitting diodes, whereas improved balance of charge carrier mobilities and film thickness uniformity are important in maintaining high efficiency at high voltages. The optoelectronic properties of these blend thin films and devices are strongly influenced by the polymer chain order/disorder and the interface state formed at polymer/polymer heterojunctions.

Electronic structure of Li-intercalated oligopyridines: a comparative study by photoelectron spectroscopy.

The role of nitrogen in the charge transfer and storage capacity of lithium-intercalated heterocyclic oligophenylenes was investigated using photoelectron spectroscopy. The development of new occupied states at low binding energies in the valence band region, as well as core level chemical shifts at both carbon and nitrogen sites, demonstrates partial charge transfer from lithium atoms to the organic component during formation of the intercalated compound. In small compounds, i.e., biphenyl and bipyridine derivatives, the position of the nitrogen heteroatom significantly affects the spacing between gap states in the Li-intercalated film; yet it has minimal effects on the charge storage capacity. In larger, branched systems, the presence of nitrogen in the aromatic system significantly enhances the charge storage capacity while the Li-N bond strength at high intercalation levels is significantly weakened relative to the nitrogen-free derivative. These observations have strong implications towards improved deintercalation processes in organic electrodes in lithium-ion batteries.

Potential-modulated, attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene methanol) copolymer films on indium-tin oxide.

We report the first application of a potential-modulated spectroelectrochemical ATR (PM-ATR) instrument utilizing multiple internal reflections at an optically transparent electrode to study the charge-transfer kinetics and electrochromic response of adsorbed films. A sinusoidally modulated potential waveform was applied to an indium-tin oxide (ITO) electrode while simultaneously monitoring the optical reflectivity of thin (2-6 equivalent monolayers) copolymer films of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene methanol) (PEDTM), previously characterized in our laboratory. At high modulation frequencies the measured response of the polymer film is selective toward the fastest electrochromic processes in the film, presumably those occurring within the first adsorbed monolayer. Quantitative determination of the electrochromic switching rate, derived from the frequency response of the attenuated reflectivity, shows a linear decrease in the rate, from 11 x 10(3) s(-1) to 3 x 10(3) s(-1), with increasing proportions of PEDTM in the copolymer, suggesting that interactions between the methanol substituent on EDTM and the ITO surface slow the switching process by limiting the rate of conformational change in the polymer film.

Molecular ordering in monolayers of an alkyl-substituted perylene-bisimide dye by attenuated total reflectance ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy.

Surface-relative orientational parameters were determined for monolayer films of N, N'-ditridecylperylenetetracarboxylic dianhydridediimide (C13-PTCDI) in terms of the relative electronic transition dipole strengths, providing a three-dimensional view of the absorption dipole distribution. In order to obtain a macroscopically ordered film, C13-PTCDI was deposited by (1) horizontal Lang-muir-Blodgett (LB) transfer onto methyl- and phenyl-silanized glass, and (2) vapor deposition onto oriented films of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) on glass. Films of LB-deposited C13-PTCDI were found to be completely isotropic prior to annealing. After annealing, these films remained isotropic in the plane of the substrate while the out-of-plane anisotropy was significantly enhanced. In contrast, films of C13-PTCDI vapor deposited onto oriented poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE)-modified substrates yielded films with a high degree of both in- and out-of-plane anisotropy. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of both the LB- and vapor-deposited films show substantial differences in film morphology and long-range order. These results demonstrate that molecular orientation in C13-PTCDI films can be controlled by varying substrate surface chemistry and post-deposition processing.

Voltammetric and waveguide spectroelectrochemical characterization of ultrathin poly(aniline)/poly(acrylic acid) films self-assembled on indium-tin oxide.

We report on the spectroelectrochemical characterization of conducting polymer (CP) films, composed of alternating layers of poly(aniline) (PANI) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), deposited on ITO-coated, planar glass substrates using layer-by-layer self-assembly. Absorbance changes associated with voltammetrically induced redox changes in ultrathin films composed of only two bilayers (ITO/PANI/PAA/PANI/PAA) were monitored in real time using a unique multiple reflection, broadband attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectrometer. CP films in contact with pH 7 buffer undergo a single oxidation/reduction process, with ca. 12.5% of the aniline centers in the film being oxidized and reduced. The ATR spectra indicate that during an anodic sweep, the leucoemeraldine form of PANI in these films is oxidized to generate both the emeraldine and pernigraniline forms simultaneously. A comparison of the behavior observed during anodic and cathodic sweeps suggests that the rate of oxidation is limited by structural changes in the polymer film originating in electrostatic repulsion between positively charged PANI chains.

Determination of molecular anisotropy in thin films of discotic assemblies using attenuated total reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy.

We report here an investigation of absorbance anisotropy in highly ordered, single bilayer (ca. 5.6 nm) Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) thin films of discotic liquid-crystalline phthalocyanines, using a recently introduced broad-band attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopic technique, capable of measuring dichroism in such films in the UV--visible optical region down to absorbances of ca. 0.003 absorbance units. On the basis of the ATR measurements of LB-deposited films, a thorough treatment was established to determine the ensemble average of the Cartesian components and the associated optical anisotropy of transition dipoles in the molecular film. In an effort to recover order parameters of molecular orientation, those results were interpreted with a circular dipole model, which is the expected model for the isolated molecule based on symmetry properties. We measured a strong dipole component normal to the film plane that cannot be explained in terms of a truly circular model, indicating that the molecular transition dipoles were perturbed upon aggregation. The utility of the experimental approach was further demonstrated by (a) investigating the effect of substrate modifiers (methyl- and phenyl-terminated silanes) on the ordering within the phthalocyanine film and (b) the effect of water immersion and re-annealing of the thin film on molecular ordering and optical anisotropy.