Back Cover (Phys. Status Solidi A 12/2009)

Characteristic Length Scales and Radial Monomer Density Profiles of Molecular Bottle-Brushes: Simulation and Experiment

Extensive Monte Carlo simulations are presented for bottle-brush polymers under good solvent conditions, using the bond fluctuation model on the simple cubic lattice. Varying the backbone length (from Nb = 67 to Nb = 259 effective monomers) as well as the side chain length (from N = 6 to N = 48), for a physically reasonable grafting density of one chain per backbone monomer, we find that the structure factor describing the total scattering from the bottle-brush provides an almost perfect match for some combinations of (Nb, N) to experimental data of Rathgeber et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 2005, 122, 124904], when we adjust the length scale of the simulation to reproduce the experimental gyration r…

Chain Motion in an Unentangled Polyethylene Melt: A Critical Test of the Rouse Model by Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy

We have investigated the dynamic structure factor for single-chain relaxation in a polyethylene melt by means of molecular dynamics simulations and neutron spin echo spectroscopy. After accounting for a 20% difference in the chain self-diffusion coefficient between simulation and experiment we find a perfect quantitative agreement of the intermediate dynamic structure factor over the whole range of momentum transfer studied. Based on this quantitative agreement one can test the experimental results for deviations from standard Rouse behavior reported so far for only computer simulations of polymer melt dynamics.

Intercorrelation between Structural Ordering and Emission Properties in Photoconducting Polymers

We investigated the structural properties of anthracene containing poly(p-phenylene−ethynylene)-alt-poly(p-phenylene−vinylene) polymers with general constitutional unit: (−Ph−C≡C−Anthr−C≡C−Ph−CH═CH−Ph−CH═CH−)n by means of wide-angle X-ray scattering and fluorescence spectroscopy. Interchain interactions were systematically modified by decorating the conjugated polymer backbone with linear or branched or combinations of linear and branched alkoxy side chains. Special emphasis is taken on an evaluation method for fiber scattering spectra that allows the deduction of important structural details of polymer materials with limited degree of order. These include positional correlations along the …

Anthracene-containing PPE-PPV copolymers: Effect of side-chain nature and length on photophysical and photovoltaic properties

Rupali Jadhav1,2, Stefan Turk3, Florian Kuhnlenz1, Vera Cimrova4, Silke Rathgeber5, Daniel A. M. Egbe*,2,3, and Harald Hoppe**,1 1 Institute of Physics, Ilmenau University of Technology, Weimarer Str. 32, 98693 Ilmenau, Germany 2 Linz Institute for Organic Solar Cells (LIOS), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstr. 69, 4040 Linz, Austria 3 Institute for Print and Media Technology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Reichenhainer Str. 70, 09126 Chemnitz, Germany 4 Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Heyrovský Sq. 2, 162 06 Prague 6, Czech Republic 5 Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany

Correlation between polymer architecture, mesoscale structure and photovoltaic performance in side-chain-modified poly(p-arylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(p-arylene-vinylene): PCBM bulk-heterojunction solar cells

Abstract Recent investigations have shown that an anthracene containing poly( p -arylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly( p -arylene-vinylene) statistical copolymer consisting of a well defined conjugated backbone, along which linear and branched alkoxy side chains are attached in a random manner, yields, compared to its counterparts with regular side chain substitution, an improved performance in polymer [6,6]:-phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) bulk-heterojunction solar cells. The microscopic origin for the improved power conversion efficiency ( η  ≈ 3.8%) of the statistical copolymer – which is the best in its material class – has not been resolved. We conducted grazing incidence wide-an…

Anthracene Based Conjugated Polymers: Correlation between π−π-Stacking Ability, Photophysical Properties, Charge Carrier Mobility, and Photovoltaic Performance

This article reports on the synthesis, characterization and properties of a series of anthracene−containing poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(p-phenylene-vinylene)s (PPE−PPV) copolymers with general constitutional unit (Ph−C≡C−Anthr−C≡C−Ph−CH═CH−Ph−CH═CH−)n denoted AnE-PV. Solely linear (AnE-PVaa, -ad, -ae) and solely branched (AnE-PVbb) as well as mixed linear and branched (AnE-PVab, -ac, -ba, -cc) alkoxy side chains were grafted to the backbone in order to tune the π−π-stacking ability of the materials. It has been possible to establish a correlation between π−π-stacking ability, absorptive behavior, charge carrier mobility, solar cell active layer nanoscale morphology and resulting p…