Local charge trapping in conjugated polymers resolved by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy

Toby Hallam, Mijung Lee, Ni Zhao, Iris Nandhakumar, Martijn Kemerink, Martin Heeney, Iain McCulloch, Henning Sirringhaus

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

66 Scopus citations

Abstract

The microstructure of conjugated polymers is heterogeneous on the length scale of individual polymer chains, but little is known about how this affects their electronic properties. Here we use scanning Kelvin probe microscopy with resolution-enhancing carbon nanotube tips to study charge transport on a 100 nm scale in a chain-extended, semicrystalline conjugated polymer. We show that the disordered grain boundaries between crystalline domains constitute preferential charge trapping sites and lead to variations on a 100 nm scale of the carrier concentration under accumulation conditions. © 2009 The American Physical Society.
Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume103
Issue number25
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 17 2009
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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