Submolecular Resolution Imaging of P3HT:PCBM Nanostructured Films by Atomic Force Microscopy: Implications for Organic Solar Cells.

ABSTRACT: The efficiency of organic bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells depends greatly on both the bulk and surface structure of the nanostructured bicontinuous interpenetrating network of materials, known as the active layer. The morphology of the top layer of a coated film is often resolved at the scale of a few nanometers, but fine details of the domains and the order within them are more difficult to identify. Here, we report a high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigation of various stoichiometries of the well-studied poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) active layer mixture. Images of the surface were obtained using AC-mode AFM exciting higher-order resonance frequencies of a standard silicon probe, a promising technique for

SUBMITTER: Liiro-Peluso L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9623582 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature