Solvent effects on polymer sorting of carbon nanotubes with applications in printed electronics

  1. Wang, H. 2
  2. Hsieh, B. 3
  3. Jiménez-Osés, G. 1
  4. Liu, P. 1
  5. Tassone, Christopher J. 4
  6. Diao, Y. 2
  7. Lei, T. 2
  8. Houk, K.N. 1
  9. Bao, Z. 2
  1. 1 University of California Los Angeles
    info

    University of California Los Angeles

    Los Ángeles, Estados Unidos

    ROR https://ror.org/046rm7j60

  2. 2 Stanford University
    info

    Stanford University

    Stanford, Estados Unidos

    ROR https://ror.org/00f54p054

  3. 3 PARC Inc., 3333 Coyote Hill Road, Palo Alto, CA, United States
  4. 4 SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
    info

    SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

    Menlo Park, Estados Unidos

    ROR https://ror.org/05gzmn429

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Revista:
Small

ISSN: 1613-6810

Año de publicación: 2015

Volumen: 11

Número: 1

Páginas: 126-133

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.1002/SMLL.201401890 SCOPUS: 2-s2.0-84920606333 WoS: WOS:000347280500013 GOOGLE SCHOLAR

Otras publicaciones en: Small

Resumen

R egioregular poly(3-alkylthiophene) (P3AT) polymers have been previously reported for the selective, high-yield dispersion of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in toluene. Here, fi ve alternative solvents are investigated, namely, tetrahydrofuran, decalin, tetralin, m -xylene, and o- xylene, for the dispersion of SWCNTs by poly(3-dodecylthiophene) P3DDT. The dispersion yield could be increased to over 40% using decalin or o-xylene as the solvents while maintaining high selectivity towards semiconducting SWCNTs. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in explicit solvents are used to explain the improved sorting yield. In addition, a general mechanism is proposed to explain the selective dispersion of semiconducting SWCNTs by conjugated polymers. The possibility to perform selective sorting of semiconducting SWCNTs using various solvents provides a greater diversity of semiconducting SWCNT ink properties, such as boiling point, viscosity, and surface tension as well as toxicity. The effi cacy of these new semiconducting SWCNT inks is demonstrated by using the high boiling point and high viscosity solvent tetralin for inkjet-printed transistors, where solvent properties are more compatible with the inkjet printing head and improved droplet formation. © 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim.