Controlling PCBM aggregation in P3HT/PCBM film by a selective solvent vapor annealing

Abstract

A selective solvent vapor, i.e., cyclohexanone or isopropyl benzene, which is a poor solvent for poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) and a good solvent for fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), was employed to reduce the size of PCBM aggregates and prolong the formation time of big PCBM aggregates in P3HT/PCBM film. PCBM nucleates and aggregates of 10-20 nm scale form in the first few minutes annealing. Then the size of PCBM aggregates kept unchanged until annealing for 60 min. Finally, larger PCBM aggregates of micron-size formed hours later. On the contrary, the growth rate of PCBM aggregates was faster and their size was larger when treated with a good solvent vapor for both components. The P3HT crystallinity was the same with different types of annealing solvents, although the rate of P3HT self-organization was decreased after a selective solvent vapor annealing. Because of the smaller size of phase separation, the device annealed in a selective solvent vapor for 30 min had a higher PCE than that annealed in a good solvent vapor.