Fabrication of organic-inorganic hybrid thin films by sol-gel process using tetraethoxysilane

We fabricated organic-inorganic hybrid thin films containing organic emissive materials by sol-gel process. We selected poly[(2,5-bis (2-(N, N,-diethylammoniumbromide)ethoxy)-1,4-phenylene)-alt-1,4-phenylene] (PPP-Net₃₊) as an organic emissive material and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as a sol-gel reaction accelerator. PPP-Net₃₊ is a water-soluble blue luminescent polymer. TEOS is a generic and low-cost material which turns into SiO₂ by sol-gel reaction. We evaluated the surface state of the hybrid films by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical properties by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The fabricated organic-inorganic hybrid thin films showed fine flatness and the long operation lifetime of PL emissions.