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Title: Critical Role of Surface Energy in Guiding Crystallization of Solution-Coated Conjugated Polymer Thin Films

Journal Article · · Langmuir
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
  2. Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
  3. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS), X-ray Science Division

It is well-known that substrate surface properties have a profound impact on morphology of thin films solution coated atop and the resulting solid-state properties. However, design rules for guiding the substrate selection have not yet been established. Such design rules are particularly important for solution coated semiconducting polymers, as the substratedirected thin film morphology can impact charge transport properties by orders of magnitude. We hypothesize that substrate surface energies dictate the thin film morphology by modulating the free energy barrier to heterogeneous nucleation. To test this hypothesis, we systematically vary the substrate surface energy via surface functionalization techniques. We perform in-depth morphology and device characterizations to establish the relationship between substrate surface energy, thin film morphology and charge transport properties, employing a donor-accepter (D-A) conjugated polymer. Here, we find that decreasing the substrate surface energy progressively increases thin film crystallinity, degree of molecular ordering and extent of domain alignment. Notably, the enhanced morphology on the lowest surface energy substrate lead to a 10-fold increase in the charge carrier mobility. We further develop a free energy model relating the substrate surface energy to the penalty of heterogeneous nucleation from solution in the thin film geometry. The model correctly predicts the experimental trend, thereby validating our hypothesis. This work is a significant step towards establishing design rules and understanding the critical role of substrates in determining morphology of solution coated thin films.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; 1641854
OSTI ID:
1418274
Journal Information:
Langmuir, Vol. 34, Issue 3; ISSN 0743-7463
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 58 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (9)

The interplay of interfaces, supramolecular assembly, and electronics in organic semiconductors journal July 2019
Increased charge carrier mobility and molecular packing of a solution sheared diketopyrrolopyrrole-based donor–acceptor copolymer by alkyl side chain modification journal January 2019
Solution Shearing of a High‐Capacitance Polymer Dielectric for Low‐Voltage Organic Transistors journal April 2019
Enhancing Molecular Alignment and Charge Transport of Solution-Sheared Semiconducting Polymer Films by the Electrical-Blade Effect journal May 2018
Design rules for dynamic-template-directed crystallization of conjugated polymers journal January 2020
Understanding the Meniscus‐Guided Coating Parameters in Organic Field‐Effect‐Transistor Fabrications journal November 2019
Aligning poly[1,6‐di‐(N‐carbazolyl)‐2,4‐hexadiyne] crystalline fibers as conducting channels for transistor applications journal May 2019
Quantitative Image Analysis of Fractal‐Like Thin Films of Organic Semiconductors journal August 2019
Printing 2D Conjugated Polymer Monolayers and Their Distinct Electronic Properties journal February 2020

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