Poly(lactic acid)/poly(3‐hexylthiophene) composite nanofiber fabrication for electronic applications |
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Authors: | William Serrano Anamaris Meléndez Idalia Ramos Nicholas J Pinto |
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Affiliation: | Department of Physics and Electronics, University of Puerto Rico at Humacao, Humacao, PR 00791, Puerto Rico |
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Abstract: | Fibers of the biopolymer poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and the p‐type semiconducting polymer poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) were fabricated using the electrospinning technique at low PLA concentration (5 wt%) in CHCl3. The fibers were several millimeters long and had diameters in the range 100 nm–4 µm. Nanofibers containing 63%/37% of PLA/P3HT were electroactive, and therefore were used to construct p–n diodes whose ideality parameter was 2.4 and rectification (on/off) ratio was 400 at ±1 V. These diodes were also able to sense UV radiation and remain operable with an increase in the on/off ratio and a lowering of the turn‐on voltage. By fabricating reusable and low‐cost multifunctional diodes from PLA/P3HT, the applications of PLA as a biocompatible and biodegradable polyester are expanded to include electronic device fabrication with low environmental impact. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry |
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Keywords: | fibers diode sensor electrospinning biopolymer |
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