CAREER: Understanding Morphology-Property Correlations in Conjugated Polymer Blends with Nanoscale Optoelectronic Probes

这个CAREER项目的科学目标是了解局部相分离形态如何影响共轭聚合物共混物中的电荷传输、分离、复合和注入。该方法涉及电扫描探针显微镜与光激发和单分子光谱学的新组合。动力学和热力学现象，在溶液处理的共轭聚合物薄膜相分离将得到解决。将立即关注半导体聚合物共混物的加工、表征和器件性能。本论文的主要研究内容包括：1）通过扫描探针制作空间、光谱和时间分辨的电荷产生和收集图，对纳米结构的光电导供体/受体共混物中的电荷产生和电荷输运进行解卷积; 2）理解电荷复合、发射、光化学的局部变化，研究了聚合物共混物中单个掺杂分子和纳米尺度区域的电致发光，以及激子-载流子耦合; 3）制作多相体系中电荷注入和电场分布的高分辨率横向和纵向图，作为界面处相组成和聚合物构象的函数;四、绘制共轭聚合物共混物中控制相分离的动力学和热力学图，以优化加工成所需形态使用纳米图案表面化学。微观模型将开发相关的观察到的电子性能作为局部膜结构的函数，以帮助预测哪些形态将满足所需的材料性能目标。将根据实际器械测量值对预测值进行检验，对薄膜进行处理以产生所选形态。这些研究将通过与合成聚合物化学家和专门研究复杂凝聚相系统电子结构的理论家的密切合作得到加强。该项目解决了电子/光子材料科学中具有技术相关性的基础研究问题。该项目是跨学科的，涉及化学，物理和材料科学的交叉，并在光致发光和电致发光显示器的直接技术应用-学生和公众容易欣赏的领域。该项目将被用来推进主要的教育目标：通过开发基于计算机的、背景丰富的问题并将其纳入华盛顿大学的物理化学课程来改善本科教育;并且，在本发明中，通过建立一个正式的研究生课程来改善研究生教育，该课程将教授口头交流技能，同时为针对代表性不足的K-12组。综合研究和教学活动将为长期的综合科学和教育计划奠定基础，该计划将持续到颁奖期之后。

The scientific goal of this CAREER project is to understand how local phase-separated morphology impacts charge transport, separation, recombination and injection in conjugated polymer blends. The approach involves novel combinations of electrical scanning-probe microscopy with optical excitation and single-molecule optical spectroscopy. Kinetic and thermodynamic phenomena governing phase separation in solution-processed conjugated polymer thin films will be addressed. Immediate attention will be given to processing, characterization, and device performance in blends of semiconducting polymers. Several themes will be initiated including: 1)deconvoluting charge generation and charge transport in nanostructured, photoconductive donor/acceptor blends by making spatially, spectrally, and time resolved charge generation and collection maps with scanning probes; 2)understanding local variations in charge recombination, emission, photochemistry, and exciton-carrier coupling by studying the electroluminescence from both single dopant molecules and nanoscale domains in polymer blends; 3)making high resolution lateral and vertical maps of charge injection and electric field distribution in multi-phase systems as a function of phase composition and polymer conformation at interfaces; 4)mapping the kinetic and thermodynamic governing phase separation in conjugated polymer blends in order to optimize processing into desired morphologies using nanopatterned surface chemistry. Microscopic models will be developed relevant to observed electronic properties as a function of local film structure to assist prediction of which morphologies will meet desired materials performance goals. Predictions will be tested against actual device measurements on films processed to yield the chosen morphology. These studies will be enhanced by close collaboration with both synthetic polymer chemists, and with theorists specializing in electronic structure in complex con-densed-phase systems. %%% The project addresses fundamental research issues in electronic/photonic materials science having technological relevance. The project is interdisciplinary involving the intersection of chemistry, physics, and materials science, and has direct technological applications in photovoltaics and electroluminescent displays--areas readily appreciated by students and the general public. The project will be leveraged to advance major educational goals: to improve undergraduate education through the development and incorporation of computer-based, context-rich problems into the physical chemistry curriculum at the University of Washington; and, to improve graduate education through the establishment of a formal graduate program that will teach verbal commu-nication skills while simultaneously serving outreach efforts targeting underrepresented K-12 groups. The integrated research and teaching activities will lay the foundation for a long-term integrated scientific and educational program that will last beyond the award period.***