Single nanoparticle of organic p-type and n-type hybrid materials: Nanoscale phase separation and photovoltaic effect

Yong Baek Lee, Seok Ho Lee, Kihyun Kim, Jin Woo Lee, Kyung Yeon Han, Jeongyong Kim, Jinsoo Joo

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    18 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We fabricated hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) of p-type poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and n-type fullerene derivative {[6,6]-phenyl C 61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)} materials through a mini-emulsion method. The nanoscale photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of the non-annealed and annealed hybrid single NPs with different concentrations of P3HT and PCBM were investigated using a laser confocal microscope (LCM) with high spatial resolution. The luminescence characteristics corresponding to the P3HT and PCBM materials were observed simultaneously in the LCM PL spectra for P3HT/PCBM hybrid NP after the annealing process. We propose that the annealing process for the hybrid NPs assisted the ordering of P3HT main chains and the formation of PCBM domains through the gathering of the molecules, indicating nanoscale phase separation. This was supported by UV-Vis absorption and Raman spectroscopy results. Conducting atomic force microscope experiments on an annealed hybrid single NP allowed for the measurement of the characteristic photoresponsive current-voltage curves, and monochromatic photovoltaic characteristics and the avalanche photodiode effect were observed in the low- and high-bias regions, respectively.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)2485-2490
    Number of pages6
    JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry
    Volume22
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012 Feb 14

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Chemistry
    • Materials Chemistry

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