TY - JOUR
T1 - Heterogeneous nucleation promotes carrier transport in solution-processed organic field-effect transistors
AU - Li, Ruipeng
AU - Khan, Hadayat Ullah
AU - Payne, Marcia M.
AU - Smilgies, Detlef M.
AU - Anthony, John E.
AU - Amassian, Aram
PY - 2013/1/21
Y1 - 2013/1/21
N2 - A new way to investigate and control the growth of solution-cast thin films is presented. The combination of in situ quartz crystal microbalance measurements with dissipation capabilities (QCM-D) and in situ grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) in an environmental chamber provides unique quantitative insights into the time-evolution of the concentration of the solution, the onset of nucleation, and the mode of growth of the organic semiconductor under varied drying conditions. It is demonstrated that careful control over the kinetics of solution drying enhances carrier transport significantly by promoting phase transformation predominantly via heterogeneous nucleation and sustained surface growth of a highly lamellar structure at the solid-liquid interface at the expense of homogeneous nucleation. A new way to investigate and control the growth of drop-cast thin films is presented. The solution-processing of small-molecule thin films of TIPS-pentacene is investigated using time-resolved techniques to reveal the mechanisms of nucleation and growth leading to solid film formation. By tuning the drying speed of the solution, the balance between surface and bulk growth modes is altered, thereby controlling the lamellar formation and tuning the carrier mobility in organic field-effect transistors
AB - A new way to investigate and control the growth of solution-cast thin films is presented. The combination of in situ quartz crystal microbalance measurements with dissipation capabilities (QCM-D) and in situ grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) in an environmental chamber provides unique quantitative insights into the time-evolution of the concentration of the solution, the onset of nucleation, and the mode of growth of the organic semiconductor under varied drying conditions. It is demonstrated that careful control over the kinetics of solution drying enhances carrier transport significantly by promoting phase transformation predominantly via heterogeneous nucleation and sustained surface growth of a highly lamellar structure at the solid-liquid interface at the expense of homogeneous nucleation. A new way to investigate and control the growth of drop-cast thin films is presented. The solution-processing of small-molecule thin films of TIPS-pentacene is investigated using time-resolved techniques to reveal the mechanisms of nucleation and growth leading to solid film formation. By tuning the drying speed of the solution, the balance between surface and bulk growth modes is altered, thereby controlling the lamellar formation and tuning the carrier mobility in organic field-effect transistors
KW - Avrami model
KW - in situ characterization
KW - organic field-effect transistors
KW - solution processing
KW - thin-film growth
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U2 - 10.1002/adfm.201201264
DO - 10.1002/adfm.201201264
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84872354116
SN - 1616-301X
VL - 23
SP - 291
EP - 297
JO - Advanced Functional Materials
JF - Advanced Functional Materials
IS - 3
ER -