Under the leadership of Professor Shuhei SEKI and Assistant Professor Akinori SAEKI at the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, in cooperation with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tohoku University, and The University of Tokyo, a group of researchers succeeded in forming nanowires with radii of 8~11 nm via induction by a high-energy ion beam. This group demonstrated that "strings" of such nanowires/fullerenes have a wide range of applications, particularly in higher efficiency organic photovoltaic cells.

Abstract:

"The development of organic semiconducting nanowires that act as charge carrier transport pathways in flexible and lightweight nanoelectronics is a major scientific challenge. We report on the fabrication of fullerene nanowires that is universally applicable to its derivatives (pristine C60, methanofullerenes of C61 and C71, and indene C60 bis-adduct), realized by the single particle nanofabrication technique (SPNT).Nanowires with radii of 8-11 nm were formed via a chain polymerization reaction induced by a high-energy ion beam. Fabrication of a poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT): [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cell including PC61BM nanowires with precisely-controlled length and density demonstrates how application of this methodology can improve the power conversion efficiency of these inverted cells. The proposed technique provides a versatile platform for the fabrication of continuous and uniform n-type fullerene nanowires towards a wide range of organic electronics applications."

Related links :

• Formation of Nanowires along Ion Trajectories in Si Backbone Polymers , Nature Publishing Group, Scientific Reports, DOI: 10.1038/srep00600
• Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering
• Support Office for Large-Scale Education and Research Projects
• Quantum Beam Technology Program
• Japan Science and Technology Agency