Nanocomposite "superhighways" by solution assembly of semiconductor nanostructures with ligand-functionalized conjugated polymers.

Poly(3-hexyl thiophene) containing chain-end thiols or phosphonic acids is crystallized to yield nanowires with the functional groups at the wire edges. CdSe quantum dots and nanorods associate with these fibrils, leading to 'superhighways' that consist of alternating parallel lanes of conjugated polymer and CdSe.