Synthesis and Properties of [60]fullerene-Polyvinylpyridine Conjugates for Photovoltaic Devices

Abstract

A two-phase radical polymerization was applied for the synthesis of fullerenecontaining poly(4-vinylpyridine), which were used as polyelectrolytes in the fabrication of photovoltaic devices. Two-phase radical polymerization resulted in the products of poly(4-vinyl pyridinated) fullerenes (PVPyF) containing a high fullerene content and poly(4-vinylpyridine) arms of short length. These polyelectrolytes with a C 60 content of up to 35% by weight are soluble in organic solvents and water at a low pH. High efficient photoinduced charge transfer in samples of PVPyF and polyanionic polythiophene derivatives fabricated by the electrostatic layer-by-layer deposition technique in producing self-assembled multilayers (SAMs) was demonstrated. As a result, high response to the increase of photoinduced conductivity was observed on the 75 bilayer device of PVPyF-3 + /H-PURETupon irradiation. Photoconductivity was found to increase in more than one order of magnitude from 0.024 to 0.31 S/cm at an applied voltage of 1.0 volt. The sign of short-circuit photocurrent was consistent with electrons flowing from Al electrode towards the ITO modified substrate.

Novel Fabrication of Janus Particles from the Surfaces of Electrospun Polymer Fibers

“…Data marked in black represent the poor colloid adsorption caused either by the hydrophobicity of the PMMA-enriched fiber surface or by the dissolution of P4VP in an acidic environment. The reduction of fiber diameters after low pH (<4) solution processes was observed in the SEM images, which agreed with the solubility curve of P4VP as a function of pH . The dissolution of protonated P4VP in acidic solution (pH ≤5) could contaminate the surfaces of silica colloids, where the silanization reaction took place.…”

Electrochemically enabled polyelectrolyte multilayer devices: from fuel cells to sensors

“…In conclusion, the electrochemical study of LbL films has grown from theory to functional devices 64,67,69,[77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113] in less than 15 years since the introduction of the technique. These thin, active films continue to make great strides in producing functional architectures for 21st century applications.…”

“…106 Since Rubner and Tripathy et al's initial work, many have expanded upon the PPV and fullerene system. [107][108][109][110][111][112] Durstock and Chiang et al 111 engineered an interpenetrating heterojunction interface to increase the short-circuit current three times relative to a single, discrete heterojunction interface, an excellent example of how LbL architecture can be used to tune and tailor a device for optimal performance. In its simplest form, multilayers of PPV and PSS were first deposited on ITO, then multilayers of C 60 + and C 60 2 atop PPV-SPS to yield one heterojunction, or one interface of PPV and C 60 2 .…”

Synthesis and Properties of [60] Fullerene-Polymethyl Methacrylate Conjugates in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

“…Very few efforts have been reported to synthesize fullerene or carbon nanotube conjugated polymers in scCO 2 . [4,5] In the past few years a number of efforts have been made to synthesize fullerenated vinyl polymers by reacting various monomers, e.g., polystyrene sulfonate, [6] 4-vinylpyridin, [6,7] vinylbenzylchloride, [8] N-vinylcarbazole, [9] and vinylpyrrolidone. [10] AIBN-initiated radical polymerization of 2-cyanoethyl acrylate and cyanovinyl acetate in the presence of [60] fullerene (C60) produces copolymers in good yields, [11] but on the other hand, C60 almost completely inhibits the polymerization.…”