Novel donor-acceptor bulk-heterojunction material: Polythiophene-titanium oxide hybrid with excellent organic-inorganic compatibility

POLY 444

Yi-Ming Chang, d93549008@ntu.edu.tw, Institute of Polymer Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 106, Taiwan
A novel organic-inorganic polymer-TiO2 hybrid has been synthesized by an in situ sol-gel reaction between a polythiophene derivative, namely, poly[3-hexylthiophene-co-3-(6-hydroxyhexyl)thiophene], and titanium(IV) n-butoxide. Furthermore, the characteristics of the hybrid have been discussed on the basis of UV-vis, PL, and TEM analyses. We demonstrate that TiO2 is well-dispersed in the polymer/THF solution, and the hybrid has a higher PL quenching efficiency than an ordinary polymer/TiO2 composite. Moreover, the morphology also exhibits a high degree of homogeneity in the film since no aggregation of TiO2 can be observed. Thus, we can prove that the in situ growth of TiO2 inside a hydroxyhexyl-containing polythiophene gives rise to a strong interaction, which promotes higher homogeneity between the polymer and TiO2. More importantly, these hybrids with excellent organic/inorganic compatibility can be further used to develop an efficient donor-acceptor bulk-heterojunction layer in polymer solar cells.