Tunable Percolation in Semiconducting Binary Polymer Nanoparticle Glasses

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Binary polymer nanoparticle glasses enable the assembly of diverse components with nanoscale and mesoscale control.
• These materials are promising for developing advanced functional materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate tunable electrical percolation in semiconducting/insulating polymer nanoparticle glasses.
• To investigate the relationship between composition and electrical properties.
• To develop a predictive model for percolation behavior.

Main Methods:

• Varying the relative percentages of equal-sized semiconducting and insulating polymer nanoparticles.
• Time-of-flight charge carrier mobility measurements.
• Conducting atomic force microscopy.
• Resistor network modeling and simulation of binary nanoparticle glasses.

Main Results:

• Tunable electrical percolation was achieved by altering nanoparticle ratios.
• Percolation thresholds were determined to be approximately 24-30%.
• The systems exhibited power law scaling percolation behavior.
• A resistor network model accurately reproduced experimental data and predicted trends.

Conclusions:

• Binary polymer nanoparticle glasses offer a route to control electrical percolation.
• The findings provide a supramolecular toolbox for rational material design using polymer nanoparticles.
• The developed model aids in predicting and optimizing material properties.