CeNS Colloquium
Place: Kleiner Physik-Hörsaal, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz
Date: 02.07.10, Time: 15:00h
Bringing conjugated polymer semiconductors to order
Dr. Natalie Stingelin
Department of Materials, Imperial College, UK
The importance of the influence of molecular order on physical characteristics of polymeric - as well as other - materials cannot be overstated. In the past, the correlation between structure and properties has been well established for, for instance, stiffness and strength, which led to the production of ultra-high-performance polymer fibers. Also, the influence of order on optical properties is well documented, which found applications in, among other things, efficient polarizers. In this presentation, routes to increased molecular order will be discussed and applied to semiconducting polymers, which currently are explored for use in "plastic electronic" components such as field-effect transistors and photovoltaic cells. It will be shown that charge-carrier mobilities in these materials - and, hence, the performance of devices comprising them - can be dramatically enhanced by improving their structural perfection.