Polymer chain/nanocrystal ordering in thin films of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) and blends with a soluble fullerene

Youngkyoo Kim, Jenny Nelson, James R. Durrant, Donal D.C. Bradley, Kyuyoung Heo, Jinwoo Park, Hwajeong Kim, Iain McCulloch, Martin Heeney, Moonhor Ree, Chang Sik Ha

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39 Scopus citations

Abstract

Here we report a study of the polymer chain/nanocrystal ordering in thin films (nanolayers) of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and blends of P3HT with a soluble fullerene derivative. A detailed analysis has been made of two dimensional (2D) grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) measurements with synchrotron radiation. P3HT samples with three different levels of regioregularity (RR) were synthesized and used to investigate the influence of RR on the chain ordering in thin films. Blend films were also prepared to investigate the influence of fullerene molecule addition on chain ordering. For the analysis, one dimensional (1D) GIXRD patterns were extracted from the 2D images for varying azimuthal angles, allowing information to be obtained for chain ordering in both the out-of-plane (OOP) and in-plane (IP) directions. These results show that the degree of P3HT chain ordering is strongly affected by RR, and that thermal annealing improves chain ordering in the OOP direction. This observation is in good agreement with high resolution transmission electron microscope measurements of film nanomorphology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)117-121
Number of pages5
JournalSoft matter
Volume3
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2007
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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