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Aggregation properties of MEH-PPV/PMMA blends in solution and thin film

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Abstract

We conducted the first in-depth investigation into the (modified) aggregation state of poly-[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexoxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/toluene solution and solution-cast thin film to shed light on prior research reporting diverse, often ambiguous, trends regarding the efficacy of blending an optically inert polymer with conjugated polymer for optoelectronic applications. The major innovation consists in systematically correlating the characteristic ratio a 1/a 2 extracted from photoluminescence spectrum, which assesses the relative contribution of intrachain-exciton and interchain-aggregate species to light emission in thin film, with the ρ-ratio obtained from (index-matching) dynamic/static light scattering analyses, which reveals the structural compactness of aggregates in solution. We elucidated that this strategy led to an unambiguous revelation of the individual effects of MEH-PPV concentration, PMMA molecular weight, and the blending ratio—three essential factors not identified or discriminated previously—and shed light on the underlying MEH-PPV/PMMA interactions in solution that ultimately determine the optical performance of solution-cast thin film.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of ROC (MOST103-2221-E-194-059-MY3).

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Chung Cheng University, Chia-Yi, 62102, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Chien-You Su & Chi-Chung Hua

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  1. Chien-You Su
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Correspondence to Chi-Chung Hua.

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Su, CY., Hua, CC. Aggregation properties of MEH-PPV/PMMA blends in solution and thin film. J Polym Res 24, 12 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-016-1169-0

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