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Photoactive Polythiophene:Titania Hybrids with Excellent Miscibility for Use in Polymer Photovoltaic Cells
Author(s) -
Chang YiMing,
Su WeiFang,
Wang Leeyih
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.200800134
Subject(s) - polythiophene , materials science , miscibility , thiophene , polymer , chemical engineering , side chain , condensation polymer , moiety , hybrid material , polymer chemistry , stacking , titanium , nanocomposite , absorption (acoustics) , conductive polymer , organic chemistry , nanotechnology , composite material , chemistry , engineering , metallurgy
A series of poly{(3‐hexylthiophene)‐ co ‐[3‐(6‐hydroxyhexyl)thiophene]}:titania (P3HT‐OH:TiO 2 ) hybrids were synthesized via the in situ polycondensation of titanium (IV) n ‐butoxide in the presence of P3HT‐OH. Introducing a hydroxyl moiety onto the side‐chain of poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) significantly promotes the polymer‐titania interaction, resulting in the formation of homogeneous hybrid colloids. The UV‐vis spectra of P3HT‐OH:TiO 2 films demonstrate that TiO 2 markedly affects the stacking structure and the chain conformation of P3HT‐OH. The maximum absorption wavelength of these hybrid materials can be tailor‐made by merely varying the weight percentage of TiO 2 . Moreover, P3HT‐OH:TiO 2 can be further utilized as an efficient compatibilizer in preparing photoactive P3HT:P3HT‐OH:TiO 2 films with excellent miscibility. The photovoltaic cell based on such a hybrid exhibited a 2.4‐fold higher value of power‐conversion efficiency compared to the cell based on P3HT:TiO 2 .