Combining particle lithography with molecular self-assembly is a practical strategy for preparing arrays of nanostructures with well-defined geometries and designated surface coverage. Millions of regular nanopatterns can be generated using basic chemistry steps (mixing, heating, centrifuging and drying) to enable exquisite nanoscale control of the geometry, density, and interfacial chemistry. Surfaces can be designed to present diverse functional groups for tuning spatial selectivity during further sequential steps of synthetic reactions. Organosilanes bind covalently to surfaces of silicon, ITO, or glass to form a network of bridging Si-O linkages between adjacent molecules or the substrate, producing nanostructured films that are robust and thermally stable. Surface patterns of organosilanes were used as a scaffold for constructing complex photovoltaic nanostructures by additional successive steps of chemical reactions such as click-chemistry or surface-initiated polymerization. Examples will be presented for backfilling organosilane nanopatterns with polythiophenes and photoconductive molecules, as steps towards designing organic photovoltaic films.

Nanofabrication of organic photovoltaic films using particle lithography with organosilanes

245th National Meeting (2013)

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