Metallization of conjugated polymers: x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory

Summary form only given. Recently, fabrication of new semiconducting devices from conjugated polymeric thin films demonstrated the technological potential of this class of electronic materials. A variety of colours is possible from conjugated polymeric ligth-emitting diodes (LED). The wavelength of luminescent emission can be chemically tuned during synthesis. The most important advantage of these materials is the mechanical flexibility of the devices. The performance of these devices strongly depend on the nature and structure of the metal/polymer interface. In this contribution we will present some results on the interaction of three conjugated polymer films with different metals (Cu, Ag, Au, Ni, Cr, Ti and Al) using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Density Functional Theory calculations.