Title
Enhancing Optoelectronic Properties of Conjugated Block Copolymers through Crystallization of Both Blocks
Date Issued
24 March 2020
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Le T.P.
Smith B.H.
Lee Y.
Litofsky J.H.
Aplan M.P.
Kuei B.
Zhu C.
Wang C.
Hexemer A.
Universidad del Estado de Pensilvania
Publisher(s)
American Chemical Society
Abstract
Microphase-separated block copolymers composed of electron donor and acceptor blocks may provide morphology control to address many challenges in organic electronics. Crucial to controlling the self-assembly of fully conjugated block copolymers is tuning the interplay between crystallization of the individual blocks and microphase separation between the donor and the acceptor. Thus, we have examined the kinetics of the morphological evolution in P3HT-b-PFTBT block copolymer films during two processes: solution casting and thermal annealing. We use in situ wide-angle and small-angle grazing incidence X-ray scattering to monitor the crystallization of P3HT and microphase separation between the two blocks. We find that during film drying, initial P3HT crystallization happens quickly, before phase separation of the two blocks. However, crystallization is significantly suppressed with respect to neat materials, enabling microphase separation to proceed at time scales after some initial crystallization of the donor block takes place. This enables a mesoscale structure to develop during processes such as thermal annealing because self-assembly of the lamellar structure takes place before the crystallization of the donor block is complete. We also find that significant crystallization of PFTBT blocks after P3HT crystallization is possible at elevated temperatures. Crystallization of both blocks is important to maximize the performance of solar cells and transistors with block copolymer active layers. As a consequence, we exceed 3% average power conversion efficiencies in P3HT-b-PFTBT photovoltaic devices.
Start page
1967
End page
1976
Volume
53
Issue
6
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencia de los polímeros Física atómica, molecular y química
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85082053071
Source
Macromolecules
ISSN of the container
00249297
Source funding
Office of Naval Research
Sponsor(s)
Financial support by the Office of Naval Research under Award N00014-19-1-2453 is acknowledged. Additional funding from Dow Chemical Co. is also acknowledged. The Advanced Light Source is an Office of Science user facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Pennsylvania State University Materials Characterization Laboratory and Nanofabrication Laboratory staff.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus