Crystalline and Conductive Poly(3‐hexylthiophene) Fibers

Abstract

Intrinsically conducting polymer fibers are prepared from P3HT by melt spinning. High crystallinity is achieved by drawing the fibers after the spinning process, applying a draw ratio of 1:2. DSC and XRD measurements confirm the continuous increase of crystalline phases with drawing. For comparison, poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers are coated with P3HT and drawn as well. Again, the drawing of the coated fiber results in a significant increase in crystallinity of the P3HT coating. The high amount of crystalline phases is associated with a dramatic increase in conductivity (350 S · cm−1) after doping with FeCl3 in nitromethane.magnified image

Solventless processing of conjugated polymers—A review

“…Fanous et al have prepared P3HT microfibers by melt spinning with a significantly increased crystalline phase after drawing the fibers at 150 • C (Fig. 6) [71].…”

“…6. XRD spectra of P3HT film, P3HT fiber and drawn P3HT fiber [71] (reprinted with permission). orientation of the macromolecular chains, despite the unfavorable arrangement of the insulating side chains being positioned along the transport direction [41].…”

Nano‐dimensional self assembly of regioregular poly (3‐hexylthiophene) in toluene: Structural, optical, and morphological properties

“…Poly (3‐hexylthiophene), P3HT is one of the ubiquitous polymers used as a conductor in these devices due to relatively good solvation property and processibility than other polythiophens with alkyl side chain . For the industrial point of view, the aggregation of rr‐P3HT into one‐dimensional nanostructures, such as nanofibers and nanowires, is a promising strategy for improving the device performance . The nanofibers of rr‐P3HT are produced by various solution‐based procedures: template method, electro‐spinning, epitaxial crystallization method, copolymerization, self‐organization on a substrate during drying, melt spinning, and self organized whisker formation in a solution .…”

“…For the industrial point of view, the aggregation of rr‐P3HT into one‐dimensional nanostructures, such as nanofibers and nanowires, is a promising strategy for improving the device performance . The nanofibers of rr‐P3HT are produced by various solution‐based procedures: template method, electro‐spinning, epitaxial crystallization method, copolymerization, self‐organization on a substrate during drying, melt spinning, and self organized whisker formation in a solution . Among these, solution aging method has potential advantages from an industrial point of view due to low‐cost, effortless preparation method and ease of mass production of nanofibers.…”

Low temperature solid state processing of pure P3HT fibers

“…In the search for more eco-friendly alternatives, conventional polymer melt processing methods have also been exploited to produce fibers 9 and thin films 10 of polythiophenes. Some of the first reports on the melt processing of poly(alkylthiophene)s date back to the 1980's when Yoshino et al 11 prepared a flexible conductive polymer fiber by melt-spinning of poly(3-alkylthiophene)s. More recently other work has also shown that poly(alkylthiophene)s can be blended with common thermoplastic polymers and processed using conventional polymer melt processing techniques.…”