B. Hajduk

Manufacturing and investigation of physical properties of polyacrylonitrile nanofibre composites with SiO2, TiO2 and Bi2O3 nanoparticles

Summary The aim of this study was to produce nanocomposite polymer fibres, consisting of a matrix of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and a reinforcing phase in the form of SiO2/TiO2/Bi2O3 nanoparticles, by electrospinning the solution. The effect of the nanoparticles and the electrospinning process parameters on the morphology and physical properties of the obtained composite nanofibres was then examined. The morphology of the fibres and the dispersion of nanoparticles in their volume were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). All of the physical properties, which included the band gap width, dielectric constant and refractive index, were tested and plotted against the concentration by weight of the used reinforcing phase, which was as follows: 0%, 4%, 8% and 12% for each type of nanoparticles. The width of the band gap was determined on the basis of the absorption spectra of radiation (UV–vis) and ellipsometry methods. Spectroscopic ellipsometry has been used in order to determine the dielectric constant, refractive index and the thickness of the obtained fibrous mats.

The Effect of Aromatic Diimide Side Groups on the π-Conjugated Polymer Properties

The presented study describes the method for the synthesis and characterization of a new class of conjugated copolymers containing a perylenediimide (PDI) and naphthalene diimide (NDI) side groups. The main conjugated backbone is a donor-acceptor polymer poly[3,6-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole)] containing thiophene and carbazole as donor units and benzothiadiazole as an acceptor unit. The presented compounds were synthesized in a multistep synthesis. The polymerization was carried out by Suzuki or Stille coupling reaction. Redox properties of the studied polymers were tested in different conditions. Electrochemical investigation revealed independent reduction of the main polymer chain and diimide side groups. UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed the overlap of two absorption spectra. The difference between the electron affinity of the polymer main chain and that of the diimides estimated electrochemically is approximately 0.3 eV.

Manufacture of photovoltaic cells with hybrid organic–inorganic bulk heterojunction

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to present the influences of material composition and production conditions of the photovoltaic cells on its parameters as well as the active layer properties. The layers were made of organic compounds: metal phthalocyanine/perylene derivatives. In addition, the effects of TiO2 and SiO2 nanoadditives were investigated. The materials used are selected so as to allow P–N junction creation. Deposition technique allows at simultaneous applying the materials leads to obtaining homogeneous dispersion of one material in the other, which determines the formation of bulk P–N junctions. Research includes the estimate of share of individual components in the active layer, then determination of the morphology of surface and optical properties of the same layer and its implementation in photovoltaic structures. The structural researches and morphology of surface investigation were made using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optical properties were researched with the use of UV–Visible spectroscope. The parameters of cells have been determined on the basis of current–voltage characteristics. The work undertaken within the framework of article allowed to linking properties of active layers with the parameters of the same cells.

P3HT:PCBM blend films phase diagram on the base of variable-temperature spectroscopic ellipsometry

In this work we present an in-depth study of the how the composition of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blend films influences their phase transitions using variable-temperature spectroscopic ellipsometry. We demonstrate that this non-destructive method is a very sensitive optical technique to investigate the phase transitions and to determine the glass transition temperatures and melting crystallization points of the P3HT:PCBM blend films. By analyzing the influence of the temperature T on the raw ellipsometric data, we have identified a high sensitivity of the ellipsometric angle Δ at a wavelength of 280 nm to temperature changes. Characteristic temperatures determined from the slope changes of the Δ(T) plot appeared to be very good guess values for the phase transition temperatures.