Effects of Emulsion-Based Resonant Infrared Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (RIR-MAPLE) on the Molecular Weight of Polymers.docVIP

Polymers 2012, 4, 341-354; doi:10.3390/polym4010341 OPEN ACCESS polymers ISSN 2073-4360 /journal/polymers Article Effects of Emulsion-Based Resonant Infrared Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (RIR-MAPLE) on the Molecular Weight of Polymers Ryan D. McCormick 1, Jeremy Lenhardt 2 and Adrienne D. Stiff-Roberts 1,* 1 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; E-Mail: ryan.mccormick@ 2 Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; E-Mail: jlenhardt@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: adrienne.stiffroberts@; Tel.: +1-919-660-5560. Received: 31 December 2011; in revised form: 29 January 2012 / Accepted: 30 January 2012 / Published: 1 February 2012 Abstract: The molecular weight of a polymer determines key optoelectronic device characteristics, such as internal morphology and charge transport. Therefore, it is important to ensure that polymer deposition techniques do not significantly alter the native polymer molecular weight. This work addresses polymers deposited by resonant infrared matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIR-MAPLE). By using a novel emulsion-based target technique, the deposition of smooth, contiguous films with no evidence of chemical degradation have been enabled. However, structural degradation via a reduction in molecular weight remains an open question. The common polymer standard, PMMA, and the optoelectronic polymers, P3HT and MEH-PPV, have been characterized before and after emulsion-based RIR-MAPLE deposition via gel permeation chromatography to determine if RIR-MAPLE affects the deposited polymer molecular weight. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements have also been conducted to verify the absence of chemical degradation. These measurements verify that there is no c