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Conjugated Polymer Composite Nanoparticles by Rapid Mixing
Author(s) -
Jung Christoph,
de Roo Tjaard,
Mecking Stefan
Publication year - 2014
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.201400384
Subject(s) - materials science , nanoparticle , polymer , composite number , quenching (fluorescence) , particle size , particle (ecology) , nanocrystal , quantum yield , nanocomposite , composite material , chemical engineering , fluorescence , nanotechnology , optics , oceanography , physics , engineering , geology
Composite nanoparticles from poly[(9,9‐di‐ n ‐octylfluoren‐2,7‐diyl)‐alt‐(benzo[2,1,3]thiadiazol‐4,8‐diyl)] (F8BT) and poly(9,9‐di‐ n ‐hexylfluoren‐2,7‐diyl) (PF) with embedded inorganic nanoparticles (TiO 2 , CdSe, and CdSe/CdS) are prepared through kinetic trapping by rapid turbulent mixing in a multi‐inlet vortex mixer without the need for polymer functionalization. High contents of inorganic materials up to 50–60 wt% are realized for all composites. The influence of flow ratios, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration, and absolute flow rates on the particle size and morphology is studied. High water‐to‐THF ratios and high total flow rates around 2 m s −1 yield particle sizes below 50 nm. By adjusting these parameters, controlled particle sizes between 30 to several hundred nanometers are obtained. Composite particles from CdSe/CdS and F8BT or PF show a strong quenching of the polymer emission and near exclusive emission from the inorganic nanocrystal, which indicates an efficient energy transfer with fluorescence quantum yields of 23% for the F8BT/CdSe/CdS composites and 21% for the PF/CdSe/CdS composites. The dispersions are colloidally stable for several months.