Self-assembly of regioregular poly (3,3‴-didodecylquarterthiophene) in chloroform and study of its junction properties

Abstract

This article deals with the study of self-assembly of regioregular poly (3,3‴-didodecylquarterthiophene), rr-PQT-12 into fiber form in chloroform by ageing process. Time dependent fiber growth mechanism is monitored by UV–vis absorption and confirmed by atomic force microscopy technique. It is observed that isolated rr-PQT-12 undergoes self-assembled fibril growth along π-π interaction direction and 45 min is sufficient for such assemblies in case of 0.125% w/v of rr-PQT-12 polymer in chloroform. Further the self-assembled fibril polymer is used in fabrication of Schottky diode. It exhibits ten times enhancement in forward current density (with one-fold higher mobility) and high rectification ratio compared to the isolated rr-PQT-12 due to the segmental electronic traps filling within stacking region. Our study provides a facile method of ordering of PQT-12 isolated chains in chloroform solvent and an effective way for improvement of performance of organic polymers based devices through such self-assembly. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.