Resonant soft X-ray scattering (RSoXS) has proven to be a powerful technique to measure the structure of organic semiconductor systems. Although it has some intrinsic limitations that limit its application in in-situ measurements of structure formation, it nevertheless has proven to be a valuable probe of aspects of structure including domain composition and molecular orientation. A particularly common application is found in the determination of relative domain purity in organic photovoltaics (OPVs). In polymer-fullerene OPVs, RSoXS has shown that higher average domain purity is generally correlated to OPV power conversion efficiency. In many cases, variations in domain purity can be realized through changes in film processing, particularly via thermal annealing steps or formulation solvent choices. A simple interpretation of RSoXS measurements is complicated by the consideration that real morphologies may be composed of three or more phases, with mixed amorphous regions in addition to relatively pure, aggregated donor and acceptor domains. Scattering originating from orientational contrast is also possible in these systems, further complicating analysis. I will discuss our approaches to solving some of these challenges with examples from organic semiconductor systems featuring cutting-edge performance in OPV and transistor applications. I will conclude with a discussion of the prospects for applying RSoXS measurements in-situ during film processing, emphasizing how the physical principles of the technique impose serious intrinsic limitations, describing the advancements in engineering necessary to approach even a constrained version of the measurement, and discussing the improvements in analysis framework that would be required to obtain information relevant to guide material and process development.

Polarized resonant soft x-ray scattering to measure processing-induced materials structure variation

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.