Active polymer nanofibers for photonics, electronics, energy generation and micromechanics

Active polymer nanofibers for opto- and nano-electronics benefit from low cost and versatile fabrication processes and exhibit an unequaled flexibility in terms of chemical composition, physical properties and achievable functionality. For these reasons, they have rapidly emerged as powerful tool for nanotechnologies and as building blocks of a wide range of devices. Both bottom up and top down nanofabrication concepts were developed to produce nanofibers made of conjugated or other functional polymers and blends. This article summarizes and reviews the chemico-physical and functional requirements for polymer nanofibers to be used in opto- and nanoelectronics, as well as recent advances in various promising device architectures, such as light emitting and photovoltaic devices, photodetectors, field-effect transistors, piezo- and thermoelectric generators, and actuators. The outlook of functional polymer nanofibers and of devices based on them is also outlined and discussed.