Flexible electronics is one of the most important trends in technology today. The market is growing so fast that it is expected to double in value in the next decade.
Extremely light and even bendable optoelectronic equipment that supplies, detects and controls light will become commonplace in the near future. A great deal of research is progressing in this direction, as exemplified by a paper recently published in Scientific Reports.
Paper - Study - Researchers - Properties - Polythiophene
The paper describes an experimental and theoretical study conducted by Brazilian and Italian researchers to enhance the optical and electronic properties of polythiophene, an electrically conductive and electroluminescent polymer. Organic, light, flexible and easy to process, it is highly attractive in mechanical terms.
"The configuration of polythiophene processed in the most common way, by spin casting, is so disordered as to impair its optical and electronic performance. In our study, we set out to pattern the material in a more ordered manner and make it more selective in emitting and absorbing light," said Marilia Junqueira Caldas, a full professor at the University of São Paulo's Physics Institute (IF-USP) in Brazil. Caldas participated in the study by contributing to the theoretical framework that described and explained the experimental data.
Pattern - Arrangement - Droplet - Polymer - Solution
The pattern she mentioned was obtained via a surprisingly simple stacking arrangement. A droplet of the polymer in solution was deposited on a substrate. As it evaporated, an elastomeric stamp was placed on it to produce a sequence of parallel stripes, which organized the internal structure of the material.
"Patterning made the polymer absorb...
(Excerpt) Read more at: phys.org