Determining the Effect of Centrifugal Force on the Desired Growth and Properties of PCPDTBT as p-Type Nanowires

Muhamad Doris; Fakhra Aziz; Haya Alhummiany; Tahani Bawazeer; Nourah Alsenany; Alaa Mahmoud; Rozalina Zakaria; Khaulah Sulaiman; Azzuliani Supangat

doi:10.1186/s11671-017-1851-0

Determining the Effect of Centrifugal Force on the Desired Growth and Properties of PCPDTBT as p-Type Nanowires

Nanoscale Res Lett. 2017 Dec;12(1):67. doi: 10.1186/s11671-017-1851-0. Epub 2017 Jan 23.

Authors

Muhamad Doris¹, Fakhra Aziz^{1

2}, Haya Alhummiany³, Tahani Bawazeer⁴, Nourah Alsenany⁵, Alaa Mahmoud⁵, Rozalina Zakaria⁶, Khaulah Sulaiman¹, Azzuliani Supangat⁷

Affiliations

¹ Low Dimensional Materials Research Centre, Department of Physics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
² Department of Electronics, Jinnah College for Women, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, 25120, Pakistan.
³ Center of Nanotechnology, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Photonics Research Centre, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
⁷ Low Dimensional Materials Research Centre, Department of Physics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia. azzuliani@um.edu.my.

Abstract

In this study, low-bandgap polymer poly{[4,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-cyclopenta-(2,1-b;3,4-b')dithiophen]-2,6-diyl-alt-(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)-4,7-diyl} (PCPDTBT) nanostructures have been synthesized via a hard nanoporous alumina template of centrifugal process. Centrifuge has been used to infiltrate the PCPDTBT solution into the nanoporous alumina by varying the rotational speeds. The rotational speed of centrifuge is directly proportional to the infiltration force that penetrates into the nanochannels of the template. By varying the rotational speed of centrifuge, different types of PCPDTBT nanostructures are procured. Infiltration force created during the centrifugal process has been found a dominant factor in tuning the morphological, optical, and structural properties of PCPDTBT nanostructures. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images proved the formation of nanotubes and nanowires. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDX) analysis showed that the nanostructures were composed of PCPDTBT with complete dissolution of the template.

Keywords: Centrifugation; Nanotubes; Nanowires; PCPDTBT.