Nanoscale Imaging of the Interface Dynamics in Polymer Blends by femtosecond pump-probe Confocal microscopy

Figure Presented) A polymer blend of a polyfluorene and an inert matrix is imaged with an innovative time-resolved confocal microscope. Local pump-probe signals (excited-state generation and deactivation) with sub200-fs temporal resolution and 300-nm spatial resolution are measured. Peculiar dynamics at the interface between the segregated domains, invisible to standard optical microscopy, due to different interchain interactions and charge separation photophysics are detected. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.