Issue 14, 2019

Controlling the pore size in conjugated polymer films via crystallization-driven phase separation

Abstract

A wide range of possible applications in sensors and optoelectronic devices have focused considerable attention on porous membranes made of semi-conducting polymers. In this study, porous films of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) were conveniently constructed through spin-coating of solutions of a blend of P3HT and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Pores were formed by phase separation driven simultaneously by incompatibility and crystallization. The influence of the polymer concentration (c), molecular weight (Mn) and spin-coating temperature (Tsp) on the pore size and structure was investigated. With increasing c from 0.5 to 5.0 wt%, the pore diameter (d) varied from ≈1.3 μm to ≈38 μm. Similarly, we observed a substantial increase of d with increasing Mn of PEG, while changing Mn of P3HT did not affect d. Micron- and nano-scale pores coexisted in porous P3HT films. While incompatibility of P3HT and PEG caused the formation of nano-pores, micron-scale pores resulted from crystallization in the PEG-rich domains by forcing PEG molecules to diffuse from the surrounding PEG–P3HT blend region to the crystal growth front.

Graphical abstract: Controlling the pore size in conjugated polymer films via crystallization-driven phase separation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Feb 2019
Accepted
18 Mar 2019
First published
20 Mar 2019

Soft Matter, 2019,15, 2981-2989

Controlling the pore size in conjugated polymer films via crystallization-driven phase separation

S. Guo, Y. Lu, B. Wang, C. Shen, J. Chen, G. Reiter and B. Zhang, Soft Matter, 2019, 15, 2981 DOI: 10.1039/C9SM00370C

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