Hierarchical Materials Design by Pattern Transfer Printing of Self-Assembled Binary Nanocrystal Superlattices.

We demonstrate the fabrication of hierarchical materials by controlling the structure of highly ordered binary nanocrystal superlattices (BNSLs) on multiple length scales. Combinations of magnetic, plasmonic, semiconducting, and insulating colloidal nanocrystal (NC) building blocks are self-assembled into BNSL membranes via the liquid-interfacial assembly technique. Free-standing BNSL membranes are transferred onto topographically structured poly(dimethylsiloxane) molds via the Langmuir-Schaefer technique and then deposited in patterns onto substrates via transfer printing. BNSLs with different structural motifs are successfully patterned into various meso- and microstructures such as lines, circles, and even three-dimensional grids across large-area substrates. A combination of electron microscopy and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) measurements confirm the ordering of NC building blocks in meso- and micropatterned BNSLs. This technique demonstrates structural diversity in the design of hierarchical materials by assembling BNSLs from NC building blocks of different composition and size by patterning BNSLs into various size and shape superstructures of interest for a broad range of applications.

Morphology-Dependent Hole Transfer under Negligible HOMO Difference in Non-Fullerene Acceptor-Based Ternary Polymer Solar Cells.

In the field of organic solar cells, it has been generally accepted until recently that a difference in band energies of at least 0.3 eV between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of the donor and the HOMO of the acceptor is required to provide adequate driving force for efficient photoinduced hole transfer due to the large binding energy of excitons in organic materials. In this work, we investigate polymeric donor:non-fullerene acceptor junctions in binary and ternary blend polymer solar cells, which exhibit efficient photoinduced hole transfer despite negligible HOMO offset and demonstrate that hole transfer in this system is dependent on morphology. The morphology of the organic blend was gradually tuned by controlling the amount of ITIC and PC70BM. High external quantum efficiency was achieved at long wavelengths, despite ITIC-to-PC70BM ratio of 1:9, which indicates efficient photoinduced hole transfer from ITIC to the donor despite an undesirable HOMO energy offset. Transient absorption spectra further confirm that hole transfer from ITIC to the donor becomes more efficient upon optimizing the morphology of the ternary blend compared to that of donor:ITIC binary blend.

Structural and Electrical Investigation of C60-Graphene Vertical Heterostructures.

Graphene, with its unique electronic and structural qualities, has become an important playground for studying adsorption and assembly of various materials including organic molecules. Moreover, organic/graphene vertical structures assembled by van der Waals interaction have potential for multifunctional device applications. Here, we investigate structural and electrical properties of vertical heterostructures composed of C60 thin film on graphene. The assembled film structure of C60 on graphene is investigated using transmission electron microscopy, which reveals a uniform morphology of C60 film on graphene with a grain size as large as 500 nm. The strong epitaxial relations between C60 crystal and graphene lattice directions are found, and van der Waals ab initio calculations support the observed phenomena. Moreover, using C60-graphene heterostructures, we fabricate vertical graphene transistors incorporating n-type organic semiconducting materials with an on/off ratio above 3 × 10(3). Our work demonstrates that graphene can serve as an excellent substrate for assembly of molecules, and attained organic/graphene heterostructures have great potential for electronics applications.

Direct observation of doping sites in temperature-controlled, p-doped P3HT thin films by conducting atomic force microscopy.

The distribution of dopant sites in doped poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) thin films is characterized using optical absorption, grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, and conducting atomic force microscopy (c-AFM). It is shown that dopant sites can be directly observed using c-AFM and that the solution temperature dramatically impacts phase separation and conductivity in spin-cast films.

Scalable fabrication of strongly textured organic semiconductor micropatterns by capillary force lithography.

Strongly textured organic semiconductor micropatterns made of the small molecule dioctylbenzothienobenzothiophene (C(8)-BTBT) are fabricated by using a method based on capillary force lithography (CFL). This technique provides the C(8)-BTBT solution with nucleation sites for directional growth, and can be used as a scalable way to produce high quality crystalline arrays in desired regions of a substrate for OFET applications.