Solubility of P3HT in chloroform and chloroform:acetone mixtures
A spin-echo SANS study
Gabriel Bernardo (Universidade do Porto)
Adélio Mendes (Universidade do Porto)
S.R. Parnell (TU Delft - RID/TS/Instrumenten groep, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)
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Abstract
P3HT is a semiconducting polymer widely used in solution-processable photovoltaic research. Measuring the solubility of P3HT in organic solvents is usually an arduous and time-consuming process. Here we report the presence or absence of P3HT nanoparticle agglomeration in optically opaque solutions of P3HT, with concentrations ranging from 6.2 to 22.0 mg·mL−1, in pure chloroform and in chloroform:acetone mixtures, using the neutron scattering technique, Spin-Echo Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SESANS). We demonstrate in-situ that the solubility of P3HT decreases from ∼ 22.0 mg/mL to < 6.2 mg/mL when the amount of acetone in solution increases from 0 vol% to 60 vol%. This work uses the ability of SESANS to probe P3HT nanoparticle aggregates, with dimensions ranging from ∼ 1 to several microns, in P3HT solutions with concentrations above the solubility limit.
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