Dattani, R., Bannock, J.H., Fei, Z. et al. (8 more authors) (2014) A general mechanism for controlling thin film structures in all-conjugated block copolymer : fullerene blends. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2 (35). pp. 14711-14719. ISSN 2050-7488
Abstract
Block copolymers have the potential to self-assemble into thermodynamically stable nanostructures that are desirable for plastic electronic materials with prolonged lifetimes. Fulfillment of this potential requires the simultaneous optimisation of the spatial organisation and phase behaviour of heterogeneous thin films at the nanoscale. We demonstrate the controlled assembly of an all-conjugated diblock copolymer blended with fullerene. The crystallinity, nanophase separated morphology, and microscopic features are characterised for blends of poly(3-hexylthiophene-block-3-(2-ethylhexyl) thiophene) (P3HT-b-P3EHT) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), with PCBM fractions varying from 0–65 wt%. We find that PCBM induces the P3HT block to crystallise, causing nanophase separation of the block copolymer. Resulting nanostructures range from ordered (lamellae) to disordered, depending on the amount of PCBM. We identify the key design parameters and propose a general mechanism for controlling thin film structure and crystallinity during the processing of semicrystalline block copolymers.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 15 Nov 2019 11:50 |
Last Modified: | 15 Nov 2019 15:37 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | The Royal Society |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1039/c4ta03146f |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:153130 |