Template-Assisted Fabrication of Free- Standing Nanorod Arrays Based upon Organic Semiconductors for Organic Solar Cells

摘要

In this paper we present the fabrication of large arrays of free- standing nanorods composed of a novel cross-linked siloxane- derivatized tetraphenylbenzidine (TPD) derivative on conductive substrates by applying a template-assisted technique, following a procedure that had been published recently. These nanorod arrays are highliy interesting for organic photovoltaic applications since it had been widely proposed that nanorod arrays composed of semiconducting materials – which are attached to a conductive substrate and can subsequently be embedded into a semiconducting matrix – are the ideal morphological architecture for organic solar cell devices with high performances. Such morphologies would provide not only a nanoscopic interpenetrating donor/acceptor network with an interfacial distance in the range of the exciton diffusion length (approx. 10-20 nm) but also percolated pathways to guarantee charge transport to the electrodes.