Amphiphilic poly(p-phenylene)s for self-organized porous blue-light-emitting thin films

Abstract

Micro- and nanostructuring of conjugated polymers are of critical importance in the fabrication of molecular electronic devices as well as photonic and bandgap materials. The present report delineates the single-step self-organization of highly ordered structures of functionalized poly(p-phenylene)s without the aid of either a controlled environment or expensive fabrication methodologies. Microporous films of these polymers, with a honeycomb pattern, were prepared by direct spreading of the dilute polymer solution on various substrates, such as glass, quartz, silicon wafer, indium tin oxide, gold-coated mica, and water, under ambient conditions. The polymeric film obtained from C12PPPOH comprises highly periodic, defect-free structures with blue-light-emitting properties. It is expected that such microstructured, conjugated polymeric films will have interesting applications in photonic and optoelectronic devices. The ability of the polymer to template the facile micropatterning of nanomaterials gives rise to hybrid films with very good spatial dispersion of the carbon nanotubes. © 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.