Apertureless scanning near-field optical studies of energy and charge transfer in molecular materials for opto-electronic devices.

用于光电器件的分子材料中能量和电荷转移的无孔径扫描近场光学研究。

• 批准号: EP/E059716/1
• 负责人: Ashley Cadby
• 金额: $ 83.75万
• 依托单位: University of Sheffield
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2007 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FE059716%2F1
• 关键词: Apertureless; scanning; near; field; optical

The development of highly efficient electronic devices is a major goal of molecular electronics. To achieve this we need to fully understand how energy is passed from one molecule to another. Theoretically this is a simple problem to understand for two small molecules. However, in electronic devices made from blends of semi-conducting polymers energy transfer occurs at the boundaries between different polymer domains. At these boundaries many processes that occur on length scales of several nanometres can play an important role in the efficiency of the energy transfer process. To study the effect these processes have on device efficiency, I aim to develop an apertureless scanning near field microscope (A-SNOM). This microscope will allow me to study the optical properties of a variety of materials at a resolution high enough to resolve individual molecules.Using the A-SNOM I will study a variety of opto-electronic systems based on conjugated polymers. Firstly I will study blends of conjugated polymers. These polymers can be blended with other polymers or small molecules and be used as the active material in light emitting diodes or photo-voltaic devices. This will lead to a greater understanding of energy transfer in these systems and can be used to improve the efficiency of devices based on blends of conjugated polymers. The second group materials I will study will consist of light harvesting complexes (LHC) derived from specialised bacteria combined with conjugated polymers, in order that the polymers protect the bacteria while facilitating energy transfer from the polymer to the bacteria. This will represent one of the first nanoscale studies of the use of bacterial compounds in molecular electronics. Finally the A-SNOM will be used to study small numbers of interacting molecules. The high resolution of A-SNOM will allow me to image the optical properties of single molecules acting as either (energy) donor or acceptor molecules. This can be used to improve our understanding in the electronic interactions between these molecules. Studying single molecules (or two interacting molecules) will be of interest to theoreticians and will shed light on processes that occur in real devices. This is not possible using other conventional measurement techniques. Finally it will also be possible to directly correlate a molecules morphology with its energy transfer ability. The A-SNOM will allow me to make simultaneous measurements of a molecules morphology and optical properties. The results from these studies will be used in conjunction with a model photovoltaic device which will permit me to understand fundamental process which limit device performance. The device will consist of patterned strips of alternating low and high bang-gap polymers. It will be possible to incorporate results obtained during the studies outlined above to increase device efficiency.

高效电子设备的开发是分子电子设备的主要目标。为了实现这一目标，我们需要充分了解如何从一个分子传递到另一个分子。从理论上讲，这是一个简单的问题，可以理解两个小分子。但是，在由半导体聚合物混合物制成的电子设备中，能量转移发生在不同聚合物结构域之间的边界。在这些边界，在几种纳米的长度尺度上发生的许多过程都可以在能量传输过程的效率中起重要作用。为了研究这些过程对设备效率的影响，我旨在开发近距离显微镜（A-SNOM）的无孔扫描。该显微镜将使我能够以足够高的分辨率研究各种材料的光学性质，以解决单个分子。使用A-SNOM，我将研究基于共轭聚合物的各种光电系统。首先，我将研究共轭聚合物的混合物。这些聚合物可以与其他聚合物或小分子混合，并用作发光二极管或光伏特设备的活性材料。这将导致对这些系统中能量传输的更多了解，可用于根据共轭聚合物的混合物来提高设备的效率。我将研究的第二组材料将包括源自专门细菌与共轭聚合物的光收集复合物（LHC），以便聚合物保护细菌，同时促进从聚合物到细菌的能量转移。这将代表有关分子电子中细菌化合物使用的首批纳米级研究之一。最后，A-SNOM将用于研究少量相互作用的分子。 A-SNOM的高分辨率将使我能够成像作用（能量）供体或受体分子的单分子的光学特性。这可以用来提高我们对这些分子之间电子相互作用的理解。研究单分子（或两个相互作用的分子）将吸引理论家，并将阐明在实际设备中发生的过程。使用其他常规测量技术是不可能的。最后，还可以将分子形态与其能量传递能力直接相关。 A-SNOM将使我能够同时测量分子形态和光学特性。这些研究的结果将与模型光伏设备结合使用，这将使我能够了解限制设备性能的基本过程。该设备将由图案化的低爆炸和高bang-空隙聚合物组成。可以合并上述研究中获得的结果，以提高设备效率。