TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterization of spray-coating methods for conjugated polymer blend thin films
AU - Noebels, Matthias
AU - Cross, Rachel Elizabeth
AU - Evans, D. A.
AU - Finlayson, Christopher
N1 - Noebels, M., Cross, R. E., Evans, D. A., & Finlayson, C. E. (2014). Characterization of spray-coating methods for conjugated polymer blend thin films. Journal of Materials Science, 49(12), 4279-4287
PY - 2014/6/30
Y1 - 2014/6/30
N2 - We examine the characteristics and functionality of conjugated polymer thin films, based on blends of poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-2,7-diyl-co-bis-N,NN'-(4-butylphenyl)-bis-N,N'-phenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine) (PFB) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-2,7-diyl-co-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT), using a spray-coating deposition technique suitable for large areas. The morphological properties of these blend films are studied in detail by atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods, showing that favourable results, in terms of layer deposition rate and uniformity, can be achieved using a 5:1 blend of o-dichlorobenzene and chlorobenzene as the solvent medium. A photoluminescence quenching efficiency of above 80 % is also observed in such blend films. As a feasibility study, prototypical photovoltaic devices exhibit open circuit voltages of up to 1.0 V under testing, and solar power conversion efficiencies in the 0.1-1 % order of magnitude; metrics which are comparable with those reported for spin-coated cells of the same active blend and device architecture.
AB - We examine the characteristics and functionality of conjugated polymer thin films, based on blends of poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-2,7-diyl-co-bis-N,NN'-(4-butylphenyl)-bis-N,N'-phenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine) (PFB) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-2,7-diyl-co-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT), using a spray-coating deposition technique suitable for large areas. The morphological properties of these blend films are studied in detail by atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods, showing that favourable results, in terms of layer deposition rate and uniformity, can be achieved using a 5:1 blend of o-dichlorobenzene and chlorobenzene as the solvent medium. A photoluminescence quenching efficiency of above 80 % is also observed in such blend films. As a feasibility study, prototypical photovoltaic devices exhibit open circuit voltages of up to 1.0 V under testing, and solar power conversion efficiencies in the 0.1-1 % order of magnitude; metrics which are comparable with those reported for spin-coated cells of the same active blend and device architecture.
KW - polymer blends
KW - polymer films
KW - conjugated polymers
KW - deposition methods
KW - structures
KW - Performance
KW - Transistors
KW - Efficiency
KW - Photovoltaics
KW - Organic Solar-Cells
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/2160/30433
U2 - 10.1007/s10853-014-8123-5
DO - 10.1007/s10853-014-8123-5
M3 - Article
SN - 0022-2461
VL - 49
SP - 4279
EP - 4287
JO - Journal of Materials Science
JF - Journal of Materials Science
IS - 12
ER -