The influence of the drying process on electrochemical properties of P3HT/PCBM (1.00/0.25 wt%) electrodes

• P3HT/PCBM thin films were submitted to different drying processes.
• Morphological changes were observed depending on the drying procedure.
• The drying process leads to changes in the electrochemical properties.
• Impedance and cyclic voltammetric data support these propositions.

The characterization of P3HT/PCBM thin films electrodes synthesized using different drying conditions is presented in this paper. P3HT/PCBM thin film was painted on ITO substrate from a composite solution and the solvent was dried slowly, at 30 °C for 12 h, or rapidly, at 100 °C for 10 min. Atomic force microscopy data shows the formation of fibrilar-like nanostructures for the films slowly dried, behavior not observed for the films rapidly dried. The distinct morphologies had an impact on the electrochemical properties, once these electrodes containing fibrilar-like nanostructures have exhibited a better conductivity, as showed by the cyclic voltammetry response. Besides, EIS data confirms such behavior, revealing that the calculated charge transfer resistance is one order of magnitude smaller for the films slowly dried than for those quickly dried.