Properties of Charges Conjugated Polymers Deposited by Electrospraying on substrates with an insulating Oxide layer
Abstract
In the course of electrospraying in vacuum, polymers acquire electric charges, which are distributed along their backbone. Here, we demonstrate that these charges have a strong impact on molecular ordering and spectroscopic properties of conjugated polymers when deposited on substrates with an insulting oxide layer. To this end, we electrosprayed varying numbers of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) onto silicon substrates with an oxide layer of different thickness. The resulting morphologies were explored by atomic force microscopy. The corresponding spectroscopic properties, including their changes in time upon illumination, were derived from photoluminescence (PL) measurements. On insulating substrates, charges were retained on the polymer chains, causing long-range electrostatic repulsion and the formation of largely separated droplet-like objects of multiple chains. These objects exhibited significant PL intensities for photons with a wavelength (λ) less than ca. 600 nm, suggesting a strong lack of \pi-\pi stacking interactions between P3HT chains. Conversely, on substrates with a thin insulating oxide layer, charges were dissipated comparatively easily in the substrate, allowing attractive intermolecular interactions to prevail. As a consequence, P3HT aggregates were generated, which emitted photons with $\lambda \simeq $ 600 nm, spectroscopically similar to P3HT in spin-coated films. Furthermore, on substrates with a thick oxide layer, we demonstrate that polymer chains may lose their charges upon illumination, yielding a PL spectrum similar to that of aggregated P3HT observed in spin-coated films.
Related
- Structural, morphological and optical properties of Cd0.7Fe2.3O4 thin films deposited on glass and quartz substrates and electrical investigation of Cd0.7Fe2.3O4/n-Si heterostructure
- Influence of Argon Deposition Pressure on the Mid-Infrared Luminescence of Dysprosium-Doped Ga–Ge–Sb–Se Waveguides Deposited on Different Substrates
- Effect of laser power variation on microstructure and properties of selective laser melting coating deposited on TC4 titanium alloy
- Anisotropic Microstructure and Chemo-Optical Properties of Fluorocarbon Films Deposited by Ablative Pulsed Plasma Thruster Plumes
- Modulating the Electronic Properties of Conductive Conjugated Coordination Polymers with Atomic-Level Precision.
BibTeX
@article{arya2026properties,
title = {{Properties of Charges Conjugated Polymers Deposited by Electrospraying on substrates with an insulating Oxide layer}},
author = {Anmol Arya and Solomon Joseph and François Vonau and Jean-Luc Bubendorff and Silvia Siegenführ and Laurent Simon and Günter Reiter},
journal = {Journal of Physical Chemistry C},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1021/acs.jpcc.6c00748},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05830657v1},
note = {CC BY-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Properties of Charges Conjugated Polymers Deposited by Electrospraying on substrates with an insulating Oxide layer
AU - Anmol Arya
AU - Solomon Joseph
AU - François Vonau
AU - Jean-Luc Bubendorff
AU - Silvia Siegenführ
AU - Laurent Simon
AU - Günter Reiter
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - Journal of Physical Chemistry C
DO - 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6c00748
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05830657v1
AB - In the course of electrospraying in vacuum, polymers acquire electric charges, which are distributed along their backbone. Here, we demonstrate that these charges have a strong impact on molecular ordering and spectroscopic properties of conjugated polymers when deposited on substrates with an insulting oxide layer. To this end, we electrosprayed varying numbers of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) onto silicon substrates with an oxide layer of different thickness. The resulting morphologies were explored by atomic force microscopy. The corresponding spectroscopic properties, including their changes in time upon illumination, were derived from photoluminescence (PL) measurements. On insulating substrates, charges were retained on the polymer chains, causing long-range electrostatic repulsion and the formation of largely separated droplet-like objects of multiple chains. These objects exhibited significant PL intensities for photons with a wavelength (λ) less than ca. 600 nm, suggesting a strong lack of \pi-\pi stacking interactions between P3HT chains. Conversely, on substrates with a thin insulating oxide layer, charges were dissipated comparatively easily in the substrate, allowing attractive intermolecular interactions to prevail. As a consequence, P3HT aggregates were generated, which emitted photons with $\lambda \simeq $ 600 nm, spectroscopically similar to P3HT in spin-coated films. Furthermore, on substrates with a thick oxide layer, we demonstrate that polymer chains may lose their charges upon illumination, yielding a PL spectrum similar to that of aggregated P3HT observed in spin-coated films.
SN - 1932-7447
SN - 1932-7455
ER -