Correlation of the Structure with Performance in MEH-PPV/dPS Thin Films Illuminated during Processing

Moncada, Joshua; Terlier, Tanguy; Ivanov, Ilia N.; Dadmun, Mark D.

doi:10.1021/acsapm.1c00410

Correlation of the Structure with Performance in MEH-PPV/dPS Thin Films Illuminated during Processing

Journal Article · Thu Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · ACS Applied Polymer Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.1c00410· OSTI ID:1844892

Moncada, Joshua ^[1]; Terlier, Tanguy ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[1]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States). SIMS Lab.
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)

Thin films containing conjugated polymers have been used in a wide array of optoelectronic devices, and much research has focused on the conformation of the conjugated polymer as a key aspect to tuning the performance of the resulting devices. White light exposure has been studied as a post-processing method to alter the film’s morphology and photoluminescence (PL) in systems composed of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV) and polystyrene (PS). To date, there have been few studies that correlate the changes in the depth profile with the PL performance of MEH-PPV/PS films. This study is designed to address this gap in knowledge. Thin films of MEH-PPV/dPS annealed above the glass transition temperatures (T_g) in an illuminated environment led to lower PL than that found in annealed samples that are not illuminated. However, at higher MEH-PPV loading in the blend film, the extent of variation of PL with illumination diminished. Additionally, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and small-angle neutron scattering document the three-dimensional morphology of the films under illumination conditions, which are correlated with the changes in PL. Illumination during annealing compressed MEH-PPV-rich layers in the thin film blends at low loadings of MEH-PPV (below 10 wt %) but resulted in significant in-plane phase separation at higher loadings (above 15 wt %). Both changes increase interchain interactions and lower the PL of the illuminated samples. The changes in the depth profile significantly alter the PL of the films, while the in-plane phase separation affected the optoelectronic properties to a lesser degree. This work, therefore, provides insights into how illumination and film composition can be utilized to predictably alter the structure and optoelectronic performance of conjugated polymer blend films.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1844892

Journal Information:: ACS Applied Polymer Materials, Journal Name: ACS Applied Polymer Materials Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 3; ISSN 2637-6105

Publisher:: ACS PublicationsCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
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light
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secondary ion mass spectrometry
small-angle neutron scattering
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Correlation of the Structure with Performance in MEH-PPV/dPS Thin Films Illuminated during Processing

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