Sonocrystallization of conjugated polymers with ultrasound fields

Soft Matter
Yuyin XiLilo D Pozzo

Abstract

Ultrasound acoustic waves are demonstrated to assemble poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) chains into nanofibers after they are fully dissolved in what are commonly considered to be 'good' solvents. In the absence of ultrasound, the polymer remains fully dissolved and does not self-assemble for weeks. UV-vis spectroscopy, ultra-small angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) are used to characterize the induced assembly process and to quantify the fraction of polymer that forms nanofibers. It is determined that the solvent type, insonation time, and aging periods are all important factors affecting the structure and final concentration of fibers. The effect of changing polymer regio-regularity, alkyl chain length, and side chain to thiophene ratio are also explored. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) fields of variable intensity are utilized to reveal the physical mechanisms leading to nanofiber formation, which is strongly correlated to cavitation events in the solvent. This in situ HIFU cell, which is designed for simultaneous scattering analysis, is also used to probe for structural changes occurring over multiple length scales using USAXS and SANS. The proposed acoustic assembly mechanism sugg...Continue Reading

References

Apr 23, 2008·Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·Robert B Brown, Julie Audet
Mar 10, 2012·Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology·Farzaneh AhmadiGail ter-Haar
Dec 9, 2014·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Gregory M NewbloomLilo D Pozzo
Jun 13, 2014·Science and Technology of Advanced Materials·Chizu SekineShuji Doi
May 11, 2017·Soft Matter·Yuyin Xi, Lilo D Pozzo

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Citations

Nov 1, 2018·Journal of Colloid and Interface Science·Yi-Ting LeeLilo D Pozzo
May 20, 2021·Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP·Ching H WuChun I Wang
Jul 3, 2019·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Bailey RisteenElsa Reichmanis

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
neutron scattering
SANS
X-ray
transmission electron microscopy
small angle neutron scattering

Software Mentioned

Neppiras
Igor Pro
SASView
USAXS
Irena
MATLAB

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