Blends with polythiophenes

Composites can also be prepared by electropolymerization from solutions containing dissolved polymer 307). Since films of polypyrrole or polythiophene are normally porous, it seems most likely that the dissolved polymer is simply entrained in the pores. Similarly, composites have been prepared by polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of acrylic latex, giving blends with 10-30 % polypyrrole that are conducting yet processable 808). Presumably the polypyrrole is distributed throughout the latex particles. 

Thermally activated PCBM diffusion and formation of crystalhne aggregates within blends with PPV derivatives were observed even at moderate temperatures [55,68,137]. In contrast, polythiophene based polymer-fullerene solar cells had an overall performance improvement upon thermal anneahng steps [171,172]. This improvement has been mainly correlated with an improved order in the film. This is especially true in the case of polythiophene, which is known to convert to a more ordered phase upon... 

Rud et al. applied electric fields for the improved vertical orientation of SWNTs in a blend with a water-soluble polythiophene derivative [323]. A profound increase of both the conductance and the photocurrent was observed for the devices where CNTs were aligned. The orientation of MWNTs in composites with polymers can also be influenced by application of large magnetic fields [324]. 

So, there has also been considerable interest in the use of conducting polymers, particularly polypyrrole (PPy), polythiophene, and polyaniline (PANl), in the form of thin films or blends with conventional polymers as sensors for airborne volatiles such as alcohols, ethers, halogens, ammonia (NH3), NO2, and warfare simulants... 

Wang H. L., Toppare L., and Fernandez J. E., Conducting polymer blends polythiophene and polypyrrole blends with polystyrene and poly (bisphenol A carbonate). 

Currently the best-performing heterojunction photovoltaic devices are made from blends of polythiophenes and PCBM [6,106]. Here, the charge-transfer states are stable with respect to triplet excitons, which comes at the cost of modest open-circuit voltages of 0.6V. Recent experimental evidence suggests that the high performance of PCBM polymer solar cells could also be attributed to the kinetic advantage in charge-transfer state separation that these cells have over those made from amorphous polymers. It is... 

Orientation of the polymer chains can be obtained by different methods. Highly oriented films of poly acetylene have been made by performing polymerization in a liquid crystal 11,2]. It has also been shown that it is possible to attain highly oriented films of polyacetylene 13] and poly(p-phenylene vinylene) [4] by stretching their precursors. Kaneto et al. 15] have oriented polythiophene by stretching a film, prepared electrochemically on In-Sn oxide (ITO)-coated poly(ethyleneterephthalate) films. The processability of the recently developed poly(3-alkylthiophenes) [6-8] makes this class of polymers suitable for stretching. Yoshino et al. [9] have shown that it is possible to orient poly(3-alkylthiophene), both as free-standing films and in a blend with an elastomer. 

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