Growth methods, enhanced photoluminescence, high hydrophobicity and light scattering of 4,4′-bis(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)biphenyl nanowires

4,4'-bis(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)biphenyl (BTPE) nanowires have been facilely grown by either post-annealing its vacuum-sublimed amorphous film or slowly evaporating its chloroform solution. The morphology and density of the nanowires can be easily tuned by changing the growth conditions. For example, isolated single nanowires were readily obtained by thermally depositing the BTPE on a heated substrate, while bundles of nanotubes can be achieved by slowly evaporating a droplet of the BTPE solution. The self-assembled BTPE nanowires show enhanced and blue-shifted photoluminescence compared with that of its amorphous film. The nanowires exhibit a highly hydrophobic surface with a water contact angle of 126 degrees. Also, the BTPE nanowires scatter the light effectively due to the random orientation of the wires. By depositing the BTPE nanowires on the backside of the glass substrate as a scattering media for organic light-emitting diodes, a 31.5% efficiency improvement has been achieved. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.