Electronic devices made from semiconducting polymers hold the promise for inexpensive and ubiquitous insertion into new markets. However, the manufacturing method strongly impacts the material structure, which further determines the electrical and mechanical properties. To design and scale-up manufacturing processes for polymer organic electronics, a quantitative relationship between process and properties will be needed. Here we focus on poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) to quantitate the process-structure-property relationships. Fibrillar morphologies are often observed in P3HT thin films by atomic force microscopy. Different morphologies are observed when the process parameters are varied, and furthermore it is hypothesized that the mobility depends directly on the morphology. This relationship between fibrillar morphology and hole mobility can be rationalized for P3HT. The highest mobility should be expected along the polymer chains, while high mobility is also expected along the fibers through pi-pi stacking. However, mobility through the bulk material also requires transport between fibers, which is expected to be the slowest and thus the rate-limiting step. P3HT has been studied extensively as a model system for polymer organic electronics, so we assembled process-property data from the literature into a single database and graphical user interface to enable information and knowledge to be extracted in a systematic and quantitative manner. The database includes over 200 devices, with 35 metrics for each device. We found that most studies reported most of these values. While the database is sparse, it provided a tool for hypothesis generation and the design of additional experiments. A follow-up study using data from the Reichmanis group brought in additional AFM measurements to quantify structure, using a tailored image processing tool. The inclusion of the AFM data enabled greater insight into the central role of structure, to define the process-structure and structure-property relationships.

Quantitation and optimization of process-structure-property relationships in polymer organic electronics

255th National Meeting (2018)

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