Conductive polymer

Exciton

Chemistry

Materials science

Optoelectronics

Nanometre

Nanofiber

Chemical physics

Composite material

Physics

Nanotechnology

Polythiophene

Diffusion

Core (optical fiber)

Condensed matter physics

Polymer

Thermodynamics

Science

Easily processed materials with the ability to transport excitons over length scales of more than 100 nanometers are highly desirable for a range of light-harvesting and optoelectronic devices. We describe the preparation of organic semiconducting nanofibers comprising a crystalline poly(di-n-hexylfluorene) core and a solvated, segmented corona consisting of polyethylene glycol in the center and polythiophene at the ends. These nanofibers exhibit exciton transfer from the core to the lower-energy polythiophene coronas in the end blocks, which occurs in the direction of the interchain π-π stacking with very long diffusion lengths (>200 nanometers) and a large diffusion coefficient (0.5 square centimeters per second). This is made possible by the uniform exciton energetic landscape created by the well-ordered, crystalline nanofiber core.

Long-range exciton transport in conjugated polymer nanofibers prepared by seeded growth