Electronic energy transfer processes in pi-conjugated polymers

Currently pi-conjugated polymers are considered as technologically interesting materials to be used as functional building elements for the development of the new generation of optoelectronic devices. More specifically during the last few years, poly-p-phenylene materials have attracted considerable attention for their blue photoluminescence properties. This Thesis deals with the optical properties of the most representative blue light poly-p-phenylene emitters such as poly(fluorene), oligo(fluorene), poly(indenofluorene) and ladder-type penta(phenylene) derivatives. In the present work, laser induced photoluminescence spectroscopy is used as a major tool for the study of the interdependence between the dynamics of the probed photoluminescence, the molecular structures of the prepared polymeric films and the presence of chemical defects. Complementary results obtained by two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction are reported. These findings show that the different optical properties observed are influenced by the intermolecular solid-state interactions that in turn are controlled by the pendant groups of the polymer backbone. A significant feedback is delivered regarding the positive impact of a new synthetic route for the preparation of a poly(indenofluorene) derivative on the spectral purity of the compound. The energy transfer mechanisms that operate in the studied systems are addressed by doping experiments. After the evaluation of the structure/property interdependence, a new optical excitation pathway is presented. An efficient photon low-energy up-conversion that sensitises the blue emission of poly(fluorene) is demonstrated. The observed phenomenon takes place in poly(fluorene) derivatives hosts doped with metallated octaethyl porphyrins, after quasi-CW photoexcitation of intensities in the order of kW/cm2. The up-conversion process is parameterised in terms of temperature, wavelength excitation and central metal cation in the porphyrin ring. Additionally the observation of the up-conversion is extended in a broad range of poly-p-phenylene blue light emitting hosts. The dependence of the detected up-conversion intensity on the excitation intensity and doping concentration is reported. Furthermore the dynamics of the up-conversion intensity are monitored as a function of the doping concentration. These experimental results strongly suggest the existence of triplet-triplet annihilation events into the porphyrin molecules that are subsequently followed by energy transfer to the host. After confirming the occurrence of the up-conversion in solutions, cyclic voltammetry is used in order to show that the up-conversion efficiency is partially determined from the energetic alignment between the HOMO levels of the host and the dopant.

Multilayer thin films by layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly of functional polyelectrolytes

Nanoscience aims at manipulating atoms, molecules and nano-size particles in a precise and controlled manner. Nano-scale control of the thin film structures of organic/polymeric materials is a prerequisite to the fabrication of sophisticated functional devices. The work presented in this thesis is a compilation of various polymer thin films with newly synthesized functional polymers. Cationic and anionic LC amphotropic polymers, p-type and n-type semiconducting polymers with triarylamine, oxadiazole, thiadiazole and triazine moieties are suitable materials to fabricate multilayers by layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly with a well defined internal structure. The LBL assembly is the ideal processing technique to prepare thin polymer film composites with fine control over morphology and composition at nano-scale thickness, which may have applications in photo-detectors, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), displays and sensors, as well as in solar cells. The multilayer build-up was investigated with amphotropic LC polymers individually by solution-dipping and spin-coating methods; they showed different internal orders with respect to layering and orientation of the mesogens, as a result of the liquid crystalline phase. The synthesized p-type and n-type semiconducting polymers were examined optically and electrochemically, suggesting that they are favorably promising as hole-(p-type) or electron-(n-type) transport materials in electronic and optoelectronic devices. In addition, we report a successful film deposition of polymers by the vacuum deposition method. The vapor deposition method provides a clean environment; it is solvent free and well suited to sequential depositions in hetero-structured multilayer system. As the potential applications, the fabricated polymer thin films were used as simple electrochromic films and also used as hole transporting layers in LEDs. Electrochemical and electrochromic characterizations of assembled films reveal that the newly synthesized polymers give rise to high contrast ratio and fast switching electrochromic films. The LEDs with vacuum deposited films show dramatic improvements in device characteristics, indicating that the films are promising as hole transporting layers. These are the result of not only the thin nano-scale film structures but also the combination with the high charge carrier mobility of synthesized semiconducting polymers.