yes / Controlling polymer thin-film morphology and crystallinity is crucial for a wide range
of applications, particularly in thin-film organic electronic devices. In this work, the
crystallization behavior of a model polymer, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), during spincoating
is studied. PEO films were spun-cast from solvents possessing different
polarities (chloroform, THF and methanol) and probed via in situ grazing incidence
wide angle x-ray scattering. The crystallization behavior was found to follow the
solvent polarity order (where chloroform < THF < methanol) rather than the solubility
order (where THF > chloroform > methanol). When spun-cast from non-polar
chloroform, crystallization largely followed Avrami kinetics, resulting in the formation
of morphologies comprising large spherulites. PEO solutions cast from more polar
solvents (THF and methanol) do not form well-defined highly crystalline
morphologies and are largely amorphous with the presence of small crystalline
regions. The difference in morphological development of PEO spun-cast from polar
solvents is attributed to clustering phenomena that inhibit polymer crystallization.
This work highlights the importance of considering individual components of polymer
solubility, rather than simple total solubility, when designing processing routes for the
generation of morphologies with optimum crystallinities or morphologies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/8570 |
| Date | 10 February 2016 |
| Creators | Toolan, D.T.W., Isakova, A., Hodgkinson, R., Reeves-McLaren, N., Hammond, O.S., Edler, K.J., Briscoe, W.H., Arnold, T., Gough, Tim, Topham, P.D., Howse, J.R. |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, Accepted Manuscript |
| Rights | © 2016 ACS. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
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