{"id":9632,"date":"2025-05-27T12:55:27","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T10:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/entre-a-orde-e-o-caos-o-citeni-desvela-en-advanced-functional-matrials-unha-nova-orde-molecular-de-polimeros-semicondutores\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T09:11:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T08:11:03","slug":"entre-a-orde-e-o-caos-o-citeni-desvela-en-advanced-functional-matrials-unha-nova-orde-molecular-de-polimeros-semicondutores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/entre-a-orde-e-o-caos-o-citeni-desvela-en-advanced-functional-matrials-unha-nova-orde-molecular-de-polimeros-semicondutores\/","title":{"rendered":"Enter order and chaos: CITENI reveals in Advanced Functional Matrials a new molecular order of semiconductor polymers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"col-md-8\">\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>An international study led by the Research Center for Naval and Industrial Technologies (CITENI), based on the Industrial Campus of the University of Coru\u00f1a (UDC), describes for the first time a solid phase in semiconductor polymers used in cutting-edge photovoltaic devices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\nThe work, published in the prestigious journal Advanced Functional Materials, sheds light on its internal molecular organization, key to understanding its performance and optimizing its manufacturing.\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div id=\"tw-container\" class=\"nev7se\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"tw-ob\" class=\"tw-src-ltr\">\n<div class=\"oSioSc\">\n<div id=\"tw-target\">\n<div id=\"kAz1tf\" class=\"g9WsWb PZPZlf\">\n<div id=\"tw-target-text-container\" class=\"tw-ta-container tw-nfl\">\nThe results of this work lay the foundations for designing more stable, efficient and flexible polymers, applicable not only to solar energy, but also to flexible electronics and bioelectronics, an advance<br \/>\ntowards cleaner and more sustainable technologies.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ferrol, May 27, 2025.\u2013<\/strong> Organic solar energy is emerging as an interesting complement to conventional photovoltaic technologies. Compared to silicon solar panels, organic solar cells are made from plastic<br \/>\nmaterials and are therefore lighter, flexible and potentially more sustainable. Specifically, these devices depend on semiconducting polymers\u2014plastic materials with electronic properties\u2014whose performance is<br \/>\nclosely linked to their internal molecular structure.<\/p>\n<p>In this context, an international study led by the CITENI Functional Polymer Laboratory, based on the Ferrol Industrial Campus of the University of Coru\u00f1a, revealed for the first time a new form of molecular<br \/>\norganization that takes place in these materials: a solid mesophase intermediate between a crystalline order and an amorphous disorder. The work, titled \u201cDecoding the Structure of Benzodithiophene Polymers for<br \/>\nHigh-Efficiency Organic Solar Cells\u201d, was published in the prestigious journal Advanced Functional Materials.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A mesophase between order and disorder<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The study focuses on push-pull semiconducting polymers\u2014which integrate molecular blocks with the capacity to donate and accept electrons, or that favor both light absorption and charge transport\u2014based on<br \/>\nbenzodithiazos, a type of compost used in cutting-edge solar devices. Research reveals that these materials are neither simply amorphous nor crystalline, but rather have an intermediate structure: a solid mesophase.<br \/>\nIn this hybrid phase, the polymers are organized into a laminar structure, where the main, rigid chains stack up like columns. The more flexible lateral chains form regions with greater mobility.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cMolecular noodles\u201d under the microscope<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe organization of these non-polymer phases, observed under a microscope, is similar to a plate of noodles, where ordered groupings coexist with more disordered ones,\u201d comments Jaime Mart\u00edn, principal<br \/>\ninvestigator. This visual metaphor helps to better understand the complex coexistence of order and disorder within the solid mesophase discovered.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hidden rexiones ata or agora<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A major advance in the work was experimental confirmation of less ordered relationships in this type of material. At this time, the typical thermal sinais of disordered materials, such as the glass transition,<br \/>\nwill not be observed.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014a gradual change not that the material loses rigidity as it burns\u2014, or that makes its detection difficult in previous studies.<\/p>\n<p>The study also indicates that higher-performance polymers, such as D18 or PM6, present a lower proportion of these disordered reactions, which could explain their greater efficiency.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In heat as an adjustment tool<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The work demonstrates that the cement can significantly reorganize the internal structure of these polymers. Depending on their level of order, they go through two or three well-defined thermal transitions. This<br \/>\ncapacity opens the door to adjustment processes such as post-deposition thermal treatments: interventions that are carried out after applying the polymer to a substrate in the form of a thin film. These treatments<br \/>\nare key to optimizing the molecular organization and, therefore, improving the performance of two devices.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We demonstrate that these polymers form a structurally complex phase, which combines order, disorder, rigid zones and flexible zones; and that can best be explained as a new type of solid mesophase.<br \/>\nUnderstanding this structure gives us a powerful tool to continue improving organic solar technologies,&#8221; highlights the team.<\/p>\n<p><strong>An international collaboration with the Galician seal<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From the CITENI Functional Polymer Laboratory, Matteo Sanviti, Xabier Rodr\u00edguez, Jesika Asatryan and Jaime Mart\u00edn contributed to the study as co-authors. Along with the UDC team, researchers from centers<br \/>\nand institutions such as the Universidade do Pa\u00eds Vasco (UPV\/EHU), POLYMAT, or Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), or Centro de Physics of Materials (CSIC-UPV\/EHU), or Singular Research Center<br \/>\n in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) of the University of Santiago de Compostela, or ALBA also participate. Synchrotron, Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) and North Carolina State<br \/>\n University (USA).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Implications for future solar energy<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nThe results of this work do not provide new fundamental knowledge in the science of materials, as they lay the foundations for designing more stable, efficient and flexible polymers, applicable not only to solar<br \/>\nenergy, but also to flexible electronics and bioelectronics. It is a firm step towards cleaner and more sustainable technologies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jaime Mart\u00edn and the Functional Polymers Laboratory<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jaime Mart\u00edn is an Oportunius researcher and directs the CITENI Functional Polymers Laboratory, located on the Ferrol Industrial Campus. His team works on the design and optimization of semiconductor<br \/>\npolymers to address the fields of organic electronics and solar energy. Mart\u00edn leads several international projects, including a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council, worth two<br \/>\nmillion euros.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Posted by:<br \/>\n<\/strong>UDC Communications Office\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An international study led by the Research Center for Naval and Industrial Technologies (CITENI), based on the Industrial Campus of the University of Coru\u00f1a (UDC),<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9632"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9632"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9633,"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9632\/revisions\/9633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intalent.udc.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}