Improvement in conductive and photovoltaic properties of layer-by-layer poly(p-phenylenevinylene) thin films by low-temperature conversion

Poly(p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV) thin films were fabricated with poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) anion by the layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition technique. A precursor PPV was thermally converted into PPV even at 100 degrees C in the presence of PSS. By the low-temperature conversion, the photoluminescence efficiency from the PPV/PSS LbL films increased significantly and the hole mobility was improved to 2x10(-5) cm(2) V(-1)s(-1). Consequently, the power conversion efficiency of PPV/PSS LbL photovoltaic films increased by one order of magnitude compared with that converted at 220 degrees C. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.