Increasing the Strength, Hardness, and Survivability of Semiconducting Polymers by Crosslinking
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Author
Chen, A.X.Hilgar, J.D.
Samoylov, A.A.
Pazhankave, S.S.
Bunch, J.A.
Choudhary, K.
Esparza, G.L.
Lim, A.
Luo, X.
Chen, H.
Runser, R.
McCulloch, I.
Mei, J.
Hoover, C.
Printz, A.D.
Romero, N.A.
Lipomi, D.J.
Affiliation
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of ArizonaIssue Date
2022-12-01
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John Wiley and Sons IncCitation
Chen, A. X., Hilgar, J. D., Samoylov, A. A., Pazhankave, S. S., Bunch, J. A., Choudhary, K., ... & Lipomi, D. J. (2023). Increasing the Strength, Hardness, and Survivability of Semiconducting Polymers by Crosslinking. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 10(3), 2202053.Journal
Advanced Materials InterfacesRights
© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Materials Interfaces published by Wiley- VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Crosslinking is a ubiquitous strategy in polymer engineering to increase the thermomechanical robustness of solid polymers but has been relatively unexplored in the context of π-conjugated (semiconducting) polymers. Notwithstanding, mechanical stability is key to many envisioned applications of organic electronic devices. For example, the wide-scale distribution of photovoltaic devices incorporating conjugated polymers may depend on integration with substrates subject to mechanical insult—for example, road surfaces, flooring tiles, and vehicle paint. Here, a four-armed azide-based crosslinker (“4Bx”) is used to modify the mechanical properties of a library of semiconducting polymers. Three polymers used in bulk heterojunction solar cells (donors J51 and PTB7-Th, and acceptor N2200) are selected for detailed investigation. In doing so, it is shown that low loadings of 4Bx can be used to increase the strength (up to 30%), toughness (up to 75%), hardness (up to 25%), and cohesion of crosslinked films. Likewise, crosslinked films show greater physical stability in comparison to non-crosslinked counterparts (20% vs 90% volume lost after sonication). Finally, the locked-in morphologies and increased mechanical robustness enable crosslinked solar cells to have greater survivability to four degradation tests: abrasion (using a sponge), direct exposure to chloroform, thermal aging, and accelerated degradation (heat, moisture, and oxygen). © 2022 The Authors. Advanced Materials Interfaces published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.Note
Open access journalISSN
2196-7350Version
Final published versionae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/admi.202202053
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © 2022 The Authors. Advanced Materials Interfaces published by Wiley- VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.