A novel method of precisely constructing stable and controllable conjugated polymer (CP)/fullerene nanostructures is presented. By building in non-covalent interactions between CP nanofibers (NFs) and fullerene derivatives, supramolecular polymer/fullerene composite NFs are obtained in solution for the first time. Specifically, a conjugated block copolymer having poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) backbone selectively functionalized with polar isoorotic acid (IOA) moieties, P1, is used as the building block. Self-assembly of P1 in mixed solvents leads to well-defined NFs decorated with IOA groups on the periphery, onto which phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and modified PCBM molecules are subsequently attached non-covalently via complementary hydrogen bonding interactions. Formation of such complex structures are studied in detail and confirmed by NMR, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray scattering measurements. Thin films of such composite NFs displayed controlled morphologies at both macroscopic (long-range ordering) and microscopic (polymer packing orientation) levels. Application of these composite NFs in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices leads to not only superior performance but also much improved thermal stability, when compared with conventional bulk heterojunction (BHJ) devices. References (1) “Stable and Controllable Polymer/Fullerene Composite Nanofibers through Cooperative Noncovalent Interactions for Organic Photovoltaics.” Li, F.; Yager, K. G.; Dawson, N. M.; Jiang, Y.-B.; Malloy, K. J.; Qin, Y.* Chem. Mater. 2014, 26, 3747. (2) “Complementary Hydrogen Bonding and Block Copolymer Self-Assembly in Cooperation toward Stable Solar Cells with Tunable Morphologies.” Li, F.; Yager, K. G.; Dawson, N. M.; Yang, J.; Malloy, K. J.; Qin, Y. Macromolecules 2013, 46, 9021. (3) “Synthesis and Characterization of Polythiophene Block Copolymer and Fullerene Derivative Capable of “Three-Point” Complementary Hydrogen Bonding Interactions and Their Application in Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells.” Li, F.; Yang, J.; Qin, Y. J. Polym. Sci. A Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3339.

Supramolecular polymer/fullerene composite nanofibers for organic photovoltaics

249th National Meeting (2015)

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