Surface modification and shape adjustment of polymer semiconductor nanowires

Low-dimensional nanomaterials have brilliant potential applications in a lot of fields. The surface of nanomaterials plays an important role in their applications. Under many circumstances, surface modification of nanomaterials is needed to endow them with novel or improved properties. Although the surface modification of inorganic one-dimensional nanomaterials by organic molecules can be easily achieved, decoration on the surface of organic semiconductor one-dimensional nanomaterials by organic molecules has not been reported yet. The harsh reaction conditions such as high temperature, acid or alkaline catalysis for the surface modification of inorganic materials will do harm to organic semiconductors and are not suitable. So the surface modification of organic semiconductor one-dimensional nanomaterials is still a big challenge. We report here the surface treatment of polymer semiconductor nanowires by alkylsilanes with different end groups. By selection of the appropriate alkylsilane, we can either modify the surface of polymer semiconductor nanowires with a self-assembled monolayer or adjust the shape of the nanowires to nanoparticles. The surface-modified polymer semiconductor nanowires show improved device performance when used in organic optoelectronic devices. Consequently, our results will open a way for the surface modification and shape adjustment of organic semiconductor one-dimensional nanomaterials, which is highly desired for their future applications in catalysis or nanodevices.