Increased crystallite size in thin films of C<sub>60</sub> and <i>p</i>-terphenyls <i>via</i> PDMS-assisted crystallization

Zhelyaskova V. V., Sharma P., Dron P. I., Martinez V., Michl J., Toney M. F., ...Daha Fazla

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C, cilt.10, sa.14, ss.5657-5665, 2022 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 10 Sayı: 14
  • Basım Tarihi: 2022
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1039/d1tc04516d
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Aerospace Database, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, INSPEC, MEDLINE, Metadex, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.5657-5665
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır

Özet

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-assisted crystallization (PAC) is a scalable, solution-based method for growing crystalline organic semiconductor thin films, which can be used in a variety of electronic charge transport and device integration studies. Using this method, polycrystalline C-60 and highly oriented crystalline p-terphenyl thin films can be grown out of solution onto amorphous substrates. Polarized optical microscopy, AFM, and GIWAXS characterization reveal that the films (1) are typically 100-200 nm thick, (2) are made up of needle- and tendril-like crystallites extending between 1-2.5 mm, and (3) have crystalline microstructures that vary with choice of solvent, temperature, and substrate pre-treatment. Both the small molecules are found to have some preferential growth parallel to the substrate. The p-terphenyl molecules arrange themselves end-on with respect to the substrate within the films-a potentially favorable orientation for in-plane charge transport. Films grown from carbon disulfide solutions cover larger areas more uniformly with thin needles compared with those grown out of o-dichlorobenzene. Growth at temperatures around ambient result in mm-long, uniformly aligned crystallites. Substrate pretreatment also enhances the uniformity and length of needle-like crystallites. This study's optimization of the PAC method parameters can promote accessible and scalable applications of crystalline organic small molecule thin films.