Harnessing self-assembly strategies for the rational design of conjugated polymer based materials

Abstract

Targeted control of the aggregation, morphology and optoelectronic properties of conjugated polymers is critical for the development of high performance optoelectronic devices. In this Highlight, recent advances in the use of self-assembly approaches to strategically manipulate the order, conformation and spatial distribution of conjugated polymers in various states (e.g. solution, gels, films, solids) are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the complex relationship that exists between molecular composition, self-assembly and supramolecular organisation and their consequential influence on the optoelectronic properties and device performance.

What conjugated polyelectrolytes tell us about aggregation in polyelectrolyte/surfactant systems

“…Further studies on nanostructuring using conjugated polyelectrolyte surfactant interactions [8] are likely to lead to improvements of both device architecture and efficiency. The optical properties of conjugated polyelectrolytes make them excellent materials for use in optoelectronics.…”

“…In addition, they show interesting aggregation behaviour with surfactants. The charges of these CPEs provide possibilities for self-assembly through electrostatic interactions with surfactants, which can be exploited both in optoelectronic devices [8], and optical platforms for highly sensitive chemical and biological sensors [9]. We will consider the behaviour of negatively and positively charged CPEs having fluorene, thiophene, phenylenevinylene and aryleneethynylene units on their backbone and their interactions with both ionic and neutral surfactants.…”

Flexible and conductive multilayer films based on the assembly of PEDOT:PSS and water soluble polythiophenes

“…Compared to neutral conjugated polymers, CPEs are soluble in polar solvents such as water and methanol, which allows their use in a wide range of applications such as biological sensors [2,3], biomedical imaging [4,5], photovoltaic cells [6] and organic light-emitting devices [7,8]. Since the conformation of the polymer backbone directly influences the optoelectronic properties of CPEs, understanding and developing self-assembly strategies to control the CPE conformation is of crucial importance [9,10].…”

“…Self-assembly is an elegant approach for obtaining conjugated polymer nanostructures with defined orientation and size [10,11]. In the case of CPEs, their inherent amphilicity enables their self-assembly into ordered aggregates in both solution and solid phases [12][13][14].…”

Charge-modulated self-assembly and growth of conjugated polyelectrolyte–polyoxometalate hybrid networks

“…Self-assembly is an elegant method for the fabrication of conjugated polymer (CP) nanostructures. 3 CPEs are inherently amphiphilic, which facilitates their self-assembly into ordered aggregates with diverse morphologies in different solvents. water result in their co-assembly into hybrid networks, that can subsequently be transferred to thin films.…”