Nanoimprint-Induced Molecular Orientation in Semiconducting Polymer Nanostructures

The morphology and orientation of thin films of the polymer poly-3(hexylthiophene)-important parameters influencing electronic and photovoltaic device performance-have been significantly altered through nanoimprinting with 100 nm spaced grooves. Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering studies demonstrate the excellent fidelity of the pattern transfer, while wide-angle scattering convincingly shows an imprinting-induced pi-pi reorientation and polymer backbone alignment along the imprinted grooves. Surprisingly, temperature-dependent scattering measurements indicate that the Imprinted induced orientation and alignment remain Intact even at temperatures where the imprinted. topographical features nearly vanish.