Polarized emission of individual self-assembled nano-fibers

The development of nanofibers is a promising approach to miniaturize optoelectronic devices. Over the recent years such fibers have been constructed from inorganic materials and carbon nanotubes. In collaboration with researchers from the Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry at the Eindhoven University of Technology we have shown that it is possible to fabricate organic nanofibers on a solid support through self-assembly of π-conjugated molecules (oligo(p-phenylenevinylene)). These fibers have a diameter of 5 nm and are typically micrometers long and exhibit a profound polarized optical emission over their entire length. The observed polarization proves the high degree of internal order within the fibers. The control of the internal order within self-assembled fibers, and the ability to measure it, is a crucial step to obtain uniform organic fibers that can be applied in nanosized electronics at room temperature.

Figure: the oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) molecules (MOPV) self-assemble into cylindrical chiral stacks which can be deposited on a graphite support and imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Fluorescence microscopy (FM) reveals that the emission of individual fibers is strongly polarized; vertically (horizontally) oriented fibers emit horizontally (vertically) polarized light.

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This work has been published in:

C.R.L.P.N. Jeukens, P. Jonkheijm, F.J.P. Wijnen, J.C. Gielen, P.C.M. Christianen, A.P.H.J Schenning, E.W. Meijer, J.C. Maan,
Polarized emission of individual self-assembled oligo(p-phenylenevinylene)-based nanofibers on a solid support
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127, 8280 (2005)