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Control of thermal and optoelectronic properties in conjugated poly(3-alkylthiophenes)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2014

Victor Ho ,
Bryan S. Beckingham ,
Hoi H. Ng  and
Rachel A. Segalman
Victor Ho
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720; Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720
Bryan S. Beckingham
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720; Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720
Hoi H. Ng
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720; Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720
Rachel A. Segalman*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720; Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720
*
Address all correspondence to Rachel A. Segalman at segalman@berkeley.edu
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Abstract

The optoelectronic and thermal properties of conjugated polymers are frequently tuned via direct synthetic modification of the conjugated repeat unit. It is also well known that these properties are inherently tied to the crystal structure, a factor which is difficult to predict upon slight chemical modification. We show that the crystal structure of random copolymers of 3-alkylthiophenes can be controlled, which in turn affects the optoelectronic properties. Furthermore, we show that the melting transitions smoothly vary between that of the two homopolymers. As such, the composition of copolymers is a convenient handle to predictably control the thermal properties, crystalline morphology, and optoelectronic properties simultaneously.

Type
Research Letters
Information
MRS Communications , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , June 2014 , pp. 45 - 50
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2014 

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