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Exploring interface tension as a tool to control the morphology of binary organic semiconductor nanoparticles prepared by nanoprecipitation

Holmes, Alexandre ; Persson, Ingemar LU orcid ; Schmutz, Marc ; Salinas-Villasenor, Alejandro ; Gamarde, Matthieu ; Maruzzo, Valentina ; Galliano, Beatrice ; Cairney, Julie ; Chambon, Sylvain and Lartigau-Dagron, Christine , et al. (2025) In Nanoscale 17(36). p.21121-21131
Abstract

The ability to control the morphology of organic semiconductor nanoparticles is of paramount importance for applications in organic photovoltaics, photocatalysis, and photo-triggered biological applications. In this paper, we demonstrate that nanoprecipitation is a powerful technique to provide a variety of morphologies in binary blends of organic semiconductors. By investigating seven different donor : acceptor couples we demonstrate that the resulting morphology is primarily governed by the interfacial tension between the two photo-active components. The structure of the particles is also influenced by the interactions between the medium and the materials. Indeed, we show that the medium should not be considered solely as water;... (More)

The ability to control the morphology of organic semiconductor nanoparticles is of paramount importance for applications in organic photovoltaics, photocatalysis, and photo-triggered biological applications. In this paper, we demonstrate that nanoprecipitation is a powerful technique to provide a variety of morphologies in binary blends of organic semiconductors. By investigating seven different donor : acceptor couples we demonstrate that the resulting morphology is primarily governed by the interfacial tension between the two photo-active components. The structure of the particles is also influenced by the interactions between the medium and the materials. Indeed, we show that the medium should not be considered solely as water; rather, the surfactant employed and the organic solvent in which the materials are dissolved also play crucial roles. By manipulating these parameters, P3HT : PC61BM nanoparticles were produced via nanoprecipitation, exhibiting either intermixed, Janus, or core-shell morphologies depending on the dispersive medium. Cryo-TEM and STEM-EDX were utilized to image the internal structure of the particles for couples involving PC61BM and non-fullerene acceptors (NFA) such as Y6 and a polymer P(DTS-DAP). The increased surface tension between the donors and PC61BM generally results in the formation of Janus nanoparticles. Conversely, the NFAs used in this study exhibit a higher compatibility with the donor, thereby promoting in some cases an intermixed structure.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Nanoscale
volume
17
issue
36
pages
11 pages
publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
external identifiers
  • scopus:105016470890
  • pmid:40878645
ISSN
2040-3364
DOI
10.1039/d5nr01734c
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
001f2ca2-772c-4ad0-951d-640c55c215e2
date added to LUP
2026-01-13 14:30:41
date last changed
2026-01-13 14:31:08
@article{001f2ca2-772c-4ad0-951d-640c55c215e2,
  abstract     = {{<p>The ability to control the morphology of organic semiconductor nanoparticles is of paramount importance for applications in organic photovoltaics, photocatalysis, and photo-triggered biological applications. In this paper, we demonstrate that nanoprecipitation is a powerful technique to provide a variety of morphologies in binary blends of organic semiconductors. By investigating seven different donor : acceptor couples we demonstrate that the resulting morphology is primarily governed by the interfacial tension between the two photo-active components. The structure of the particles is also influenced by the interactions between the medium and the materials. Indeed, we show that the medium should not be considered solely as water; rather, the surfactant employed and the organic solvent in which the materials are dissolved also play crucial roles. By manipulating these parameters, P3HT : PC<sub>61</sub>BM nanoparticles were produced via nanoprecipitation, exhibiting either intermixed, Janus, or core-shell morphologies depending on the dispersive medium. Cryo-TEM and STEM-EDX were utilized to image the internal structure of the particles for couples involving PC<sub>61</sub>BM and non-fullerene acceptors (NFA) such as Y6 and a polymer P(DTS-DAP). The increased surface tension between the donors and PC<sub>61</sub>BM generally results in the formation of Janus nanoparticles. Conversely, the NFAs used in this study exhibit a higher compatibility with the donor, thereby promoting in some cases an intermixed structure.</p>}},
  author       = {{Holmes, Alexandre and Persson, Ingemar and Schmutz, Marc and Salinas-Villasenor, Alejandro and Gamarde, Matthieu and Maruzzo, Valentina and Galliano, Beatrice and Cairney, Julie and Chambon, Sylvain and Lartigau-Dagron, Christine and Holmes, Natalie and Bousquet, Antoine}},
  issn         = {{2040-3364}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{36}},
  pages        = {{21121--21131}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society of Chemistry}},
  series       = {{Nanoscale}},
  title        = {{Exploring interface tension as a tool to control the morphology of binary organic semiconductor nanoparticles prepared by nanoprecipitation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d5nr01734c}},
  doi          = {{10.1039/d5nr01734c}},
  volume       = {{17}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}