Simultaneously Induced Self-Assembly of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) Nanowires and Thin-Film Fabrication via Solution-Floating Method on a Water Substrate

Abstract

A single-step fabrication of thin film of conjugated polymers (CPs) cannot be employed because inducement of self-assembly of CPs and a thin-film fabrication process are both required. This study introduces a simple and facile one-pot strategy for fabricating uniform, large-area organic semiconducting thin film without complex process. During the solvent evaporation of floated poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) solution on water substrate, well-dissolved P3HT chains are self-assembled into 1D P3HT nanowires (NWs) with formation of thin film simultaneously. Through systematic transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments, this study also reveals for the first time the unique self-assembly mechanism behind the formation of P3HT NWs from the incorporation of P3HT nanoparticles (NPs). In addition, highly uniform organic-inorganic hybrid thin films consisting of well-defined P3HT/quantum dots (QDs) hybrid NWs can be created easily via a solution-floating method by dropping P3HT and QDs dissolved solution. The floated P3HT NWs thin film on the surface of water can be easily transferred onto a Si wafer, bestowing advantages for the fabrication of a high-performance organic field-effect transistor device with a carrier mobility of 0.0856 cm(2) V-1 s(-1).