Erbium bisphthalocyanine nanowires by electrophoretic deposition: Morphology control and optical properties

Erbium bisphthalocyanine (HErPc2) films comprised of one-dimensional (1D) organic nanowires were obtained by the electrophoretic deposition method from the mixed solutions of chloroform and trifluoroacetic acid containing the protonated HErPc2. Effects of the deposition voltage (Vd) and the deposition time (td) on the morphology of the films were studied by X-ray diffraction, UV–vis absorption and scanning electron microscope. The results revealed that the growth of 1D organic nanostructure could be conveniently controlled by tuning the deposition parameters of Vd and td. The influences of the annealing time and the annealing temperature were also investigated and the effect of time–temperature correspondence principle was found. The film growth mechanism was discussed for both stages of the electrophoretic deposition and the annealing process. Furthermore, the as-deposited HErPc2 films showed interesting photoresponse in the near infrared (NIR) region, indicating the possibility for NIR photodetection application.