Giuseppe Pandolfi

Fabrication of Novel Two-Dimensional Nanopatterned Conductive PEDOT:PSS Films for Organic Optoelectronic Applications

This paper presents a novel strategy to fabricate two-dimensional poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) photonic crystals (PCs) combining electron beam lithography (EBL) and plasma etching (PE) processes. The surface morphology of PEDOT:PSS PCs after mild oxygen plasma treatment was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The effects on light extraction are studied experimentally. Vertical extraction of light was found to be strongly dependent on the geometric parameters of the PCs. By changing the lattice type from triangular to square and the geometrical parameters of the photonic structures, the resonance peak could be tuned from a narrow blue emission at 445 nm up to a green emission at 525 nm with a full width at half-maximum of 20 nm, which is in good agreement with Braggs diffraction theory and free photon band structure. Both finite-difference time-domain and plane wave expansion methods are used to calculate the resonant frequencies and the photonic band structures in the two-dimensional photonic crystals showing a very good agreement with the experiment results. A 2D nanopatterned transparent anode was also fabricated onto a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate and it was integrated into an organic light-emitting diode (OLED). The obtained results fully confirm the feasibility of the developed process of micro/nano patterning PEDOT:PSS. Engineered polymer electrodes prepared by this unique method are useful in a wide variety of high-performance flexible organic optoelectronics.

Tube Expansion Deformation Enables In Situ Synchrotron X-ray Scattering Measurements during Extensional Flow-Induced Crystallization of Poly l-Lactide Near the Glass Transition

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, claiming over seven million lives each year. Permanent metal stents, the current standard of care for CHD, inhibit arterial vasomotion and induce serious complications such as late stent thrombosis. Bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVSs) made from poly l-lactide (PLLA) overcome these complications by supporting the occluded artery for 3–6 months and then being completely resorbed in 2–3 years, leaving behind a healthy artery. The BVS that recently received clinical approval is, however, relatively thick (~150 µm, approximately twice as thick as metal stents ~80 µm). Thinner scaffolds would facilitate implantation and enable treatment of smaller arteries. The key to a thinner scaffold is careful control of the PLLA microstructure during processing to confer greater strength in a thinner profile. However, the rapid time scales of processing (~1 s) defy prediction due to a lack of structural information. Here, we present a custom-designed instrument that connects the strain-field imposed on PLLA during processing to in situ development of microstructure observed using synchrotron X-ray scattering. The connection between deformation, structure and strength enables processing–structure–property relationships to guide the design of thinner yet stronger BVSs.

Electrical stress effects on organic thin-film transistor with solution-processed TIPS-pentacene and poly-4-vinylphenol dielectric

Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with bottom-gate top-contacts architecture have been fabricated on glass substrates using solution-processed TIPS-pentacene (triisopropylsilyl pentacene) as semiconductor and cross-linked PVP (poly(4-vinylphenol)) as insulator, with Gold contacts evaporated through shadow masks. Applying constant electrical stress for short time on both gate and drain, an increase of drain current respect just finished devices have been observed in output and transfer characteristics.

2D/3D switchable displays through PDLC reverse mode parallax barrier

ABSTRACT In this paper, we present a new type of parallax barrier, for switchable 2D/3D display vision, obtained by using a Reverse Mode Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal display (RV-PDLC). The parallax barrier was prepared by sandwiching the RV-PDLC film between two ITO conductive glass supports. Strips of ITO were removed from one of the supports, in order to alternate conductive to not conductive strips. In this way the RV-PDLC films could be electrically switched in a parallax barrier able to turn a 2D image in a 3D one. The RV-PDLC barrier was obtained in tree steps: (1) a nematic diacrylate monomer (NDM) was dissolved in a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) in the presence of a small quantity of radical polymerisation initiator; (2) the mixture was homeotropically aligned between the glass conductive supports, previously treated with an aligning chemical; (3) the liquid crystal monomer was polymerised by UV curing. A 2D/3D switchable device was finally obtained by coupling the parallax barrier with a 2D tablet display. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Organic LED safe-operating area investigated through high applied field dependences

In this paper, the electrical and optical properties of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) are analyzed, deriving the devices limits at high applied electric fields. In particular, for different device thicknesses, it is possible to conclude that the optical breakdown can be attributed to a surface phenomenon, that the temperature of electrical failure is significantly different from the optical one, that the two phenomena of failure are markedly similar at different thicknesses and that there is a maximum field beyond which the thin cathode may be destroyed due to phenomena not agreeable to thermal events.

Conductive nanocomposite films based on functionalized double-walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in PEDOT:PSS

High conductive and transparent nanocomposite films consisting of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiphene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) doped with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and double-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized with carboxylic groups (c-DWCNTs) were spin-coated and their electrical (four-point measurement), optical (UV-Vis spectroscopy), morphological (SEM, AFM) and structural (Raman) properties were investigated. Thin films of c-DWCNT/DMSO-PEDOT:PSS resulted more conductive (950 S/cm) in comparison with the pristine DMSOPEDOT: PSS films (700 S/cm).