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Co-self-assembly of mesostructured silica films from solutions of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and water, silica precursor species, and structure-directing Pluronic P123 block-copolymer molecules is reported with and without conjugated polymer guest species. The solution-phase behavior of the ternary THF-water-P123 system guided the selection of nonequilibrium synthesis conditions that allowed highly ordered 2D hexagonal or lamellar mesostructured silica to be prepared. Dilute water molecules produced in situ by silica condensation were necessary and sufficient to promote P123 self-aggregation into micelles and ultimately liquid crystal-like inorganic-organic mesophases as the THF evaporated. Solid-state twodimensional 13 C{ 1 H} and 29 Si{ 1 H} NMR characterization of the product film materials revealed highly mobile block copolymer components at room temperature and preferential interactions of poly(ethylene oxide) moieties with the silica framework at 260 K. Solution processing in THF permitted highly hydrophobic, high molecular weight, conjugated polymers to be directly coassembled within the mesostructured inorganic-organic host matrices during their formation. The incorporated conjugated polymers exhibited semiconducting properties and enhanced environmental photo-stability that may be exploited in electronic and optoelectronic devices.

A self-assembly process for the preparation of functional mesoscopically ordered semiconducting polymer-silica nanocomposite thin films is reported. The nanocomposites are prepared by introducing pre-synthesized semiconducting polymers into a tetrahydrofuran (THF)-water homogeneous sol solution containing silica precursor species and a surface-active agent. Depending on the concentration of the surface-active agent, it was possible to prepare materials with three different types of mesostructural order: i) a 2D hexagonal mesophase silica with conjugated polymer guest species incorporated within the hydrophobic cylinders organized in domains aligned parallel to the substrate surface plane; ii) a lamellar mesophase silica with the layers oriented parallel to the substrate surface and the conjugated polymer guest species incorporated in the hydrophobic layers; or iii) an apparent intermediate phase consisting of a mixture of the hexagonal and lamellar phases in addition to worm-like aggregates with no appreciable orientational order. The continuous through-film conductive pathway provided by the intermediate phase has allowed the integration of ordered semiconducting polymer-silica nanocomposites into opto-electronic devices. By comparison, the lamellar mesostructure prevents through-film conduction, with the result that no light emission occurs. Blue-, green-and red-emitting diodes comprising blue-emitting poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO), green-emitting poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-1,4-benzo-(2,19,3)-thiadiazole) (F8BT), and red-emitting poly[2-methoxy-5(29-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEHPPV) confined within the 2D hexagonal silica nanostructure were fabricated with luminances of ca. 3 cd m 22 at 15 V. Device performances provide criteria for optimizing the selection of synthesis chemistries, processing conditions, compositions, and structures, for light-emission properties sought.