Organic crystallizable solvent served as template for constructing well-ordered PPE films

Tuning the solidification of the crystallizable solvent naphthalene, well-patterned conjugated polymer poly(phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) films with well-defined nanostructures of 0D nanodots, 1D lamellas, and 2D texture nanostructures have been prepared by several strategies. The nanostructures have been characterized and the formation mechanisms for the morphologies have been discussed.

Graphical abstractThe naphthalene crystals served as templates to prepare PPE films with structures of 0D nanodots, 1D parallel lamellas and 2D cross-oriented textures.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (64 K)Download as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights► Crystallizable naphthalene was used to dissolve PPE when it melted. ► Naphthalene solution was solidified along different orientation to prepare PPE films. ► PPE films with well-defined structures were fabricated controllably by these methods. ► The well-defined films may have many applications in electronic and photonic devices.