A Simple Method to Tailor the Electrical and Tensile Properties of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Ultrathin Films AITranslate

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DOI：https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.3c01975

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Conjugated polymer (CP) ultrathin films are promising candidates for flexible electronics, but simultaneously improving both the electrical performance and stretchability of CP ultrathin films by modulating the microstructure instead of varying the film thickness remains challenging. In this study, we prepared a dilute poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2,3-dicarboxylic acid disodium salt (HPN-68L) solution in a toluene:1,2-dichlorobenzene (Tol/ODCB) solvent blend. The solution was ultrasonicated and then spin-coated to form P3HT ultrathin films through a simple one-step operation. Ultrasonication of the dilute polymer solution could make a localized region of the solution near an ultrasonication microbubble become highly concentrated. HPN-68L supplied a nucleation surface that accelerated P3HT nucleation and crystallization to form more tie chains. The Tol/ODCB solvent blend controlled the crystallinity and order of P3HT. By carefully choosing the ultrasonication time, nucleating agent content, and solvent blend ratio, P3HT ultrathin films with interpenetrating networks can be obtained, which have appropriate crystallinity/order and sufficient tie chains for high charge transport and high stretchability, successfully achieving simultaneous strong improvements in the electrical performance and stretchability. This method is verified to be suitable for producing P3HT ultrathin films with various thicknesses and improved performance by modulating the microstructures and enhancing the electrical property retention under the repeated strain of P3HT ultrathin films. We supply a simple one-step method to fabricate P3HT ultrathin films with controllable microstructures and good performance. These findings offer a direction for research on stretchable CP ultrathin films to facilitate future practical applications.