Thermal stability of vapor-deposited stable glasses of an organic semiconductor

Journal Article · Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Journal of Chemical Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4916649· OSTI ID:22415617

Walters, Diane M.; Richert, Ranko ^[1]

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1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 (United States)

Vapor-deposited organic glasses can show enhanced kinetic stability relative to liquid-cooled glasses. When such stable glasses of model glassformers are annealed above the glass transition temperature T{sub g}, they lose their thermal stability and transform into the supercooled liquid via constant velocity propagating fronts. In this work, we show that vapor-deposited glasses of an organic semiconductor, N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine (TPD), also transform via propagating fronts. Using spectroscopic ellipsometry and a new high-throughput annealing protocol, we measure transformation front velocities for TPD glasses prepared with substrate temperatures (T{sub Substrate}) from 0.63 to 0.96 T{sub g}, at many different annealing temperatures. We observe that the front velocity varies by over an order of magnitude with T{sub Substrate}, while the activation energy remains constant. Using dielectric spectroscopy, we measure the structural relaxation time of supercooled TPD. We find that the mobility of the liquid and the structure of the glass are independent factors in controlling the thermal stability of TPD films. In comparison to model glassformers, the transformation fronts of TPD have similar velocities and a similar dependence on T{sub Substrate}, suggesting universal behavior. These results may aid in designing active layers in organic electronic devices with improved thermal stability.

• OSTI ID: 22415617
• Journal Information: Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 142, Issue 13; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
ACTIVATION ENERGY
ANNEALING
BENZIDINE
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ELLIPSOMETRY
FILMS
GLASS
LIQUIDS
MOBILITY
ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTORS
RELAXATION TIME
TRANSFORMATIONS
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE
VAPOR DEPOSITED COATINGS