Role of Matrix Components on Morphology and Electrical Properties of Coaxially Electrospun Fiber

Electrospinning is a fiber fabrication method that uses electrostatic force to obtain polymeric fibers from a polymer solution. In this research, electrospinning is employed to produce conjugated polymer fibers that have useful electronic properties. Conjugated polymers cannot be directly spun into fibers because of their low molecular weight and the absence of entanglement. To overcome this, a high molecular weight flexible polymer was used to assist the spinning. A coaxial electrospinning setup, which creates fibers with a core-shell structure, was utilized to produce fibers. High molecular weight polyethylene oxide and polymethyl methacrylate were chosen as the core material, as those can reliably form fibers. The shell is made of the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT). The electrical and photophysical properties of the resultant fibers will be presented. This research provides a critical understanding of the processing-structure-property relationships for conjugated polymers.