Graphene Oxide: Key to Efficient Charge Extraction and Suppression of Polaronic Transport in Hybrids with Poly (3-hexylthiophene) Nanoparticles

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) of conjugated polymers in intimate contact with sheets of graphene oxide (GO) constitute a promising class of water-dispersible nanohybrid materials of increased interest for the design of sustainable and improved optoelectronic thin-film devices, revealing properties exclusively pre-established upon their liquid-phase synthesis. In this context, we report for the first time the preparation of a P3HT NPs −GO nanohybrid employing a miniemulsion synthesis approach, whereby GO sheets dispersed in the aqueous phase serve as a surfactant. We show that this process uniquely favors a quinoid-like conformation of the P3HT chains of the resulting NPs well located onto individual GO sheets. The accompanied change in the electronic behavior of these P3HT NPs , consistently confirmed by the photoluminescence and Raman response of the hybrid in the liquid and solid states, respectively, as well as by the properties of the surface potential of isolated individual P3HT NPs −GO nano-objects, facilitates unprecedented charge transfer interactions between the two constituents. While the electrochemical performance of nanohybrid films is featured by fast charge transfer processes, compared to those taking place in pure P3HT NPs films, the loss of electrochromic effects in P3HT NPs −GO films additionally indicates the unusual suppression of polaronic charge transport processes typically encountered in P3HT. Thus, the established interface interactions in the P3HT NPs −GO hybrid enable a direct and highly efficient charge extraction channel via GO sheets. These findings are of relevance for the sustainable design of novel high-performance optoelectronic device structures based on water-dispersible conjugated polymer nanoparticles.