Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Low Pressure Vapor-assisted Solution Process for Tunable Band Gap Pinhole-free Methylammonium Lead Halide Perovskite Films
Published on: September 8, 2017
Phase diagram of P3HT/PCBM blends and its implication for the stability of morphology
Jun Zhao1, Ann Swinnen, Guy Van Assche
1Department of Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
Abstract:
In this work, the phase diagram of poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blends is measured by means of standard and modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry. Blends were made by solvent-casting from chlorobenzene, as blends cast from toluene or 1,2-dichlorobenzene prove to retain effects of phase segregation during casting, hindering the determination of the phase diagram. The film morphology of P3HT/PCBM blends cast from chlorobenzene results from a dual crystallization behavior, in which the crystallization of each component is hindered by the other component. A single glass transition is observed for all compositions. The glass transition temperature (Tg) increases with increasing concentration of PCBM: from 12.1 degrees C for pure P3HT to 131.2 degrees C for pure PCBM. The observed Tg defines the operating window for the thermal annealing and explains the long-term instability of both the morphology and the photovoltaic performance of the P3HT/PCBM solar cells.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
π Molecular Orbitals of 1,3-Butadiene
The simplest conjugated diene is 1,3-butadiene: a four-carbon system where each carbon is sp2-hybridized and has an unhybridized p orbital that contains an unpaired electron. According to molecular orbital theory, atomic orbitals combine to form molecular orbitals such that the number...
Stability of Substituted Cyclohexanes
The two chair conformations of cyclohexanes undergo rapid interconversion at room temperature. Both forms have identical energies and stabilities, each comprising equal amounts of the equilibrium mixture. Replacing a hydrogen atom with a functional group makes the two conformations energetically non-equivalent.
For example, in...
Phase Diagrams of Ternary Systems
Electrophilic Addition of HX to 1,3-Butadiene: Thermodynamic vs Kinetic Control
Frost Circles for Different Conjugated Systems
Structure of Benzene: Molecular Orbital Model

