Patent ID: 6861091

Claim:
A self-assembly process for preparing luminescent organic-inorganic nanocomposite thin films comprising the steps: obtaining a homogeneous solution in a solvent system of water and an organic solvent, said homogeneous solution comprising: a soluble silicate; a silica coupling agent containing a silica reactive moiety and an organic reactive moiety; a surfactant having a hydrophobic portion and a hydrophilic portion, said surfactant having a concentration below the critical micelle concentration; and an organic material containing a functional moiety substituent selected from hole transport, electron transport, and emissive material moieties and wherein said organic material is soluble or dispersible in the homogeneous solution; depositing a film of the homogeneous solution on a substrate; and preferentially evaporating the organic solvent to enrich the concentration of water and non-volatile homogeneous solution components within the depositing film to promote micelle formation, such that the organic material migrates into a hydrophobic portion of the forming micelles and wherein continued evaporation promotes self-assembly of the micelles into interfacially organized liquid crystalline mesophases.