We show that the nanostructure and internal chain configurations of poly-3(hexylthiophene) (P3HT) films can be modified through the application of nanoimprint lithography using patterned stamps with 100 nm spaced rectangular-like grooves. The film's morphological properties and the polymer backbone orientation have been investigated in-situ using grazing incidence small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS and GIWAXS), respectively, over a wide temperature range. The GISAXS results demonstrate the excellent fidelity of the pattern transfer into the polymer film. The GIWAXS results show the formation of face-on oriented P3HT domains and that the polymer backbones are oriented along the imprinted grooves for these face-on domains. With increasing temperature, we observed the gradual smoothing-out of the imprinted polymer nanostructure. Despite this smoothing, the imprinted-induced face-on orientation is reasonably temperature independent. Nanoimprinting may also prove to be a means of inducing phase separation in heterojunction organic solar cells.  Complementary studies, carried out using nanoimprinted PEDOT:PSS films will also be reported.

Nanoimprint induced molecular orientation and performance in semiconducting polymer nanostructures?

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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