Comparing morphology in dip-coated and spin-coated polyfluorene:fullerene films

Abstract

When preparing the active layer film for organic optoelectronic devices, e.g., solar cells, spin-coating is often used for the deposition of the solution of electron donor and acceptor molecules. An alternative, among others, is to use dipcoating, where the substrate is dipped into the solution and subsequently withdrawn, all at coordinated speeds and times. In order to develop knowledge on how the final active layer morphology is influenced by preparation parameters, different coating methods are compared. In this contribution, we report on a comparative study of thin deposited films from a model system. The investigated model system is poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (F8, also referred to as PFO) as donor and [6,6]-phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PC 60 BM) as acceptor. Combining fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy with atomic force microscopy allows us to conclude that dipcoating offers increased possibilities to manipulate the film morphology, that the transition of the glassy F8 α-phase to the more ordered β-phase is influenced by the dipping speed as well as by the blend ratio, and that the long-wavelength emission of F8 cannot stem from the oxidized keto-F8 only.

A review on tribology of polymer composite coatings

“…Jiang et al [111] studied polydopamine (pDA)-coated polymer films and found that surface roughness is mainly affected by the reaction temperature. van Stam et al [112] comparatively studied the morphology of polyfluorene: Fullerene films prepared through spin coating and dip coating. Similar morphological structures can be obtained by the two preparation methods, and the final film morphology can be controlled by appropriately selecting the dip-coating speed.…”

“…Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA), and fluorinated perfluoroethylene (FEP) coatings are produced by flame and plasma spraying processes. The spray coating was found to be non-porous and very smooth [113]. UHMWPE/graphene nanosheet coatings were deposited by flame spraying.…”

Influence of Spin Coating and Dip Coating with Gelatin/Hydroxyapatite for Bioresorbable Mg Alloy Orthopedic Implants: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

“…The dip coating process starts with the immersion of a substrate into a polymer solution, keeping the substrate immersed for a certain period, and then withdrawing it out of the solution and drying it. 15 So far, dip coating is a feasible alternative method widely applied in research. Dip coating is a simple way to deposit a polymer layer onto the target substrate.…”

Fullerene Aggregation in Thin Films of Polymer Blends for Solar Cell Applications

“…Here, we report on the aggregation of PC 70 BM, as studied by fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence spectroscopy has successfully been used for the characterisation of these [21,22] or other [24,25] blends previously. The optical properties are correlated with the phase separated domain structure as imaged by AFM.…”