ABSTRACT
An intriguing morphological transition from poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) 1D nanofibers to 2D nanoribbons enabled by the addition of a series of alkylthiols is reported. First, P3HT 1D nanofibers are formed due to strong anisotropic π-π stacking between planar rigid backbones. Upon the addition of alkylthiols, P3HT nanofibers are transformed into nanoribbons associated with the crystallographic transition from edge-on orientation to flat-on orientation. The content of alkylthiols has a great influence on the P3HT morphology in the solution. The mechanism of such a morphological transformation is discussed based on the interaction between alkylthiols and P3HT chains. This work offers an effective strategy to tailor the crystal morphology and dimension of P3HT, which not only improves the understanding of P3HT crystallization but also may enable such discovery into conjugated polymer-based optoelectronic devices.
Subject(s)
Nanofibers/chemistry , Nanotubes, Carbon/chemistry , Thiophenes/chemistry , Microscopy, Atomic Force , Microscopy, Electron, Transmission , Quantum Theory , Spectrophotometry , Sulfhydryl Compounds/chemistryABSTRACT
Nanoribbon-shaped nanocomposites composed of conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanoribbons and plasmonic gold nanorods (AuNRs) were crafted by a co-assembly of thiol-terminated P3HT (P3HT-SH) nanofibers with dodecanethiol-coated AuNRs (AuNRs-DDT). First, P3HT-SH nanofibers were formed due to interchain π-π stacking. Upon the addition of AuNRs-DDT, P3HT-SH nanofibers were transformed into nanoribbons decorated with the aligned AuNRs on the surface (i.e., nanoribbon-like P3HT/AuNRs nanocomposites). Depending on the surface coverage of the P3HT nanoribbons by AuNRs, these hierarchically assembled nanocomposites exhibited broadened and red-shifted absorption bands of AuNRs in nIR region due to the plasmon coupling of adjacent aligned AuNRs and displayed quenched photoluminescence of P3HT. Such conjugated polymer/plasmonic nanorod nanocomposites may find applications in fields, such as building blocks for complex superstructures, optical biosensors, and optoelectronic devices.
