Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.133, No.51, 20850-20856, 2011
Charge Trapping and Storage by Composite P3HT/PC60BM Nanoparticles Investigated by Fluorescence-Voltage/Single Particle Spectroscopy
Fluorescence-voltage/single particle spectroscopy (F-V/SPS) was employed to study exciton-hole polaron interactions and interfacial charge transfer processes for pure poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanoparticles (NPs) and composite P3HT/PC60BM NPs in functioning hole-injection devices. F-V/SPS data collected on a particle-by-particle basis reveal an apparent bistability in the fluorescence-voltage modulation curves for composite NPs of P3HT and [6,6]-phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC60BM) that is absent for pure P3HT NPs. A pronounced deep trapping of free electrons photogenerated from the composite P3HT/PC60BM NPs at the NP/dielectric interface and hole trapping by fullerene anions in composite P3HT/PC60BM NPs under photoexcitation lies at the basis of this finding. The deep electron trapping effect reported here for composite conjugated polymer/fullerene NPs presents an opportunity for future application of these NPs in nanoscale memory and imaging devices.