Disorder in P3HT Nanoparticles Probed by Optical Spectroscopy on P3HT-<i>b</i>-PEG Micelles
Patrick Beer, Paul M. Reichstein, Konstantin Schötz, Dominic Raithel, Mukundan Thelakkat, Jürgen Köhler, Fabian Panzer, Richard Hildner
Abstract
-PEG copolymer does not fully planarize before aggregation at RT and that upon cooling, partial planarization occurs. This intra-chain torsional disorder is ultimately responsible for the intra- and inter-aggregate disorder. These findings are supported by temperature-dependent absorption spectra on thin P3HT films. The interplay between intra-chain, intra-aggregate, and inter-aggregate disorder is key for the bulk photophysical properties of nanoparticles based on conjugated polymers, for example, in hierarchical (super-) structures. Ultimately, these properties determine the usefulness of such structures in hybrid organic-inorganic materials, for example, in (bio-)sensing and optoelectronics applications.