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Ruffino R, Jankowski M, Konovalov O, Punzo F, Tuccitto N, Li-Destri G. Modulating Polymer Ultrathin Film Crystalline Fraction and Orientation with Nanoscale Curvature. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:4453. [PMID: 38006177 PMCID: PMC10674544 DOI: 10.3390/polym15224453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
We investigated the effect of nanoscale curvature on the structure of thermally equilibrated poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) ultrathin films. The curvature-induced effects were investigated with synchrotron grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our results demonstrate that nanoscale curvature reduces the polymer crystalline fraction and the crystal length. The first effect is strongest for the lowest curvature and results in a decrease in the out-of-plane thickness of the polymer crystals. On the other hand, the crystal in-plane length decreases with the increase in substrate curvature. Finally, the semi-quantitative analysis of crystal anisotropy shows a marked dependence on the substrate curvature characterized by a minimum at curvatures between 0.00851 nm-1 and 0.0140 nm-1. The results are discussed in terms of a curvature-dependent polymer fraction, which fills the interstices between neighboring particles and cannot crystallize due to extreme space confinement. This fraction, whose thickness is highest at the lowest curvatures, inhibits the crystal nucleation and the out-of-plane crystal growth. Moreover, because of the adhesion to the curved portion of the substrates, crystals adopt a random orientation. By increasing the substrate curvature, the amorphous fraction is reduced, leading to polymer films with higher crystallinity. Finally, when the thickness of the film exceeds the particle diameter, the curvature no longer affects the crystal orientation, which, similarly to the flat case, is predominantly edge on.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Ruffino
- Department of Chemical Sciences and Center for Colloid and Surface Science (CSGI), University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy; (R.R.); (N.T.)
| | - Maciej Jankowski
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS40220, CEDEX 9, 38043 Grenoble, France; (M.J.); (O.K.)
| | - Oleg Konovalov
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS40220, CEDEX 9, 38043 Grenoble, France; (M.J.); (O.K.)
| | - Francesco Punzo
- Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy;
| | - Nunzio Tuccitto
- Department of Chemical Sciences and Center for Colloid and Surface Science (CSGI), University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy; (R.R.); (N.T.)
| | - Giovanni Li-Destri
- Department of Chemical Sciences and Center for Colloid and Surface Science (CSGI), University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy; (R.R.); (N.T.)
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Grodd LS, Mikayelyan E, Dane T, Pietsch U, Grigorian S. Local scale structural changes of working OFET devices. NANOSCALE 2020; 12:2434-2438. [PMID: 31746902 DOI: 10.1039/c9nr07905j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We present an in situ nanobeam grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (nanoGIXD) study of real-sized organic field effect transistors (OFET) under applied voltage. The nano-sized beam allows for spatially resolved monitoring of the structural behavior across the poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) polymer channel and the interfacial regions of the source and drain gold electrodes before and after the operation cycle. We observe major alterations of the gold contacts, in particular diffusion of Au atoms into the polymer channel and a local reorientation of the recrystallized Au nanocrystallites quantified by Hermans' orientation factors. Therefore, the initially sharp electrode-polymer interfaces are significantly modified as a result of device operation. Our findings demonstrate that nanoGIXD has a high potential to probe functionality and reliability of working organic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- L S Grodd
- Department of Physics, University of Siegen, Walter-Flex-Straße 3, 57072 Siegen, Germany.
| | - E Mikayelyan
- Department of Physics, University of Siegen, Walter-Flex-Straße 3, 57072 Siegen, Germany.
| | - T Dane
- ESRF - The European Synchrotron, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble 38043, France
| | - U Pietsch
- Department of Physics, University of Siegen, Walter-Flex-Straße 3, 57072 Siegen, Germany.
| | - S Grigorian
- Department of Physics, University of Siegen, Walter-Flex-Straße 3, 57072 Siegen, Germany.
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Li J, Xue M, Xue N, Li H, Zhang L, Ren Z, Yan S, Sun X. Highly Anisotropic P3HT Film Fabricated via Epitaxy on an Oriented Polyethylene Film and Solvent Vapor Treatment. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:7841-7847. [PMID: 31082249 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b00402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
To improve the epitaxial crystallization ability of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) on a highly oriented polyethylene (PE) substrate, controlled solvent vapor treatment (CSVT) is employed. The anisotropic structures and related optical properties depend not only on the solvent used to prepare the film but also on the subsequent solvent vapor treatment pressure and time. A highly oriented PE film facilitates the "side-on" chain orientation of P3HT with its c axis parallel to the drawing direction of the PE film. The dichroic ratio (DR) of the P3HT film reflected by UV-vis spectra can reach as high as 7.1, which is much larger than the value treated by thermal annealing. Moreover, the excitation bandwidth W, indicating the effective conjugation length and molecular order, shows significant anisotropic features. Solvent used for solution processing with a high boiling point is more favorable for inducing anisotropic multiscale structures. In particular, the oriented structures lead to obvious anisotropic carrier mobility. The carrier mobility of P3HT after CSVT along the PE molecular chain direction is 7.5 times higher than that measured perpendicular to the PE chain direction. This is of great importance in fabricating anisotropic thin films of conjugated polymeric semiconductors with enhanced performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiali Li
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029 , China
| | - Meiling Xue
- Key Laboratory of Rubber-Plastics Ministry of Education , Qingdao University of Science & Technology , Qingdao 266042 , China
| | - Ning Xue
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029 , China
| | - Huihui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029 , China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029 , China
| | - Zhongjie Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029 , China
| | - Shouke Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029 , China
- Key Laboratory of Rubber-Plastics Ministry of Education , Qingdao University of Science & Technology , Qingdao 266042 , China
| | - Xiaoli Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029 , China
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Villeneuve-Faure C, Le Borgne D, Ventalon V, Seguy I, Moineau-Chane Ching KI, Bedel-Pereira E. Nanoscale investigations on interchain organization in thin films of polymer-liquid crystal blend. J Chem Phys 2017; 147:014701. [PMID: 28688441 DOI: 10.1063/1.4991415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Optimized nanomorphology in organic thin active layers is crucial for good performance in organic solar cells. However, the relation between morphology and electronic properties at nanoscale remains not completely understood. Here, we study the effect of film thickness and temperature annealing on the ordering of poly(3-hexylthiophene) chains when the polymer is blended with a columnar liquid crystalline molecule. Electronic absorption, atomic force microscopy measurements, and Raman spectroscopy show that morphology and chain ordering of the blend depend on the film thickness. We highlight the benefit of using a liquid crystal in organic blends, opening the way to use simple processing methods for the fabrication of organic electronic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Villeneuve-Faure
- LAPLACE, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, 118 Route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - D Le Borgne
- LAPLACE, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, 118 Route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - V Ventalon
- LAAS, CNRS and Université de Toulouse, INSA, UPS, F-31077 Toulouse, France
| | - I Seguy
- LAAS, CNRS and Université de Toulouse, INSA, UPS, F-31077 Toulouse, France
| | - K I Moineau-Chane Ching
- CNRS, LCC (Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination), 205, Route de Narbonne, F-31077 Toulouse, France
| | - E Bedel-Pereira
- LAAS, CNRS and Université de Toulouse, INSA, UPS, F-31077 Toulouse, France
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Ward JW, Lamport ZA, Jurchescu OD. Versatile Organic Transistors by Solution Processing. Chemphyschem 2015; 16:1118-32. [DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201402757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Kurta RP, Grodd L, Mikayelyan E, Gorobtsov OY, Zaluzhnyy IA, Fratoddi I, Venditti I, Russo MV, Sprung M, Vartanyants IA, Grigorian S. Local structure of semicrystalline P3HT films probed by nanofocused coherent X-rays. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2015; 17:7404-10. [DOI: 10.1039/c5cp00426h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Spatially resolved x-ray study of semicrystalline P3HT films reveals nanoscale inhomogeneity of the conjugated network, as well as structural variations induced by Au nanoparticles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruslan P. Kurta
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
- D-22607 Hamburg
- Germany
- European XFEL GmbH
- D-22761 Hamburg
| | - Linda Grodd
- Department of Physics
- University of Siegen
- D-57072 Siegen
- Germany
| | | | - Oleg Y. Gorobtsov
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
- D-22607 Hamburg
- Germany
- National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”
- 123182 Moscow
| | - Ivan A. Zaluzhnyy
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
- D-22607 Hamburg
- Germany
- National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute)
- 115409 Moscow
| | - Ilaria Fratoddi
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanotechnology for Engineering (CNIS)
- University of Rome Sapienza
- I-00185 Rome
- Italy
| | - Iole Venditti
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Rome Sapienza
- I-00185 Rome
- Italy
| | | | - Michael Sprung
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
- D-22607 Hamburg
- Germany
| | - Ivan A. Vartanyants
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
- D-22607 Hamburg
- Germany
- National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute)
- 115409 Moscow
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