Dewetting of Swollen Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Films during Spin-Coating Processes: Implications for Device Fabrication

Abstract

Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) films have been usually prepared by spin-coating for the applications of electronic devices such as organic photovoltaic devices (OPV) and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). The wetting and dewetting behaviors of the swollen P3HT films during the spin-coating processes, however, are still poorly understood. In this work, we investigate the dewetting behaviors of P3HT thin films and the formation of ring structures during the spin-coating process by controlling the spin rates and the solution temperatures. Quantitative studies of the dewetting phenomena are conducted by measuring the sizes of the ring structures of the dewetting patterns. It is observed that the sizes of the ring structures are larger at lower spin rates because of the longer dewetting times allowed during the spin-coating processes. More importantly, the dewetting behaviors of the P3HT films are discovered to be affected by the formation of the P3HT nanowhiskers (nanowires). This work offers a deeper understanding of the dewetting behaviors of swollen P3HT films during the spin-coating processes, which is crucial for the development of P3HT-based optoelectronic devices.