Solvent effect on the thin film formation of polymeric solar cells

This research work investigates the influence of the solvent used upon the formation of polymeric photoactive layer. This photoactive layer consists of a blend of poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), to produce P3HT:PCBM (at 1:1 ratio) blend thin films, in which the material solutions are deposited onto clean substrates via spin-coating technique. Three types of solvents were used namely: 100% dichlorobenzene (DCB), 100% chloroform (CH) and 50%:50% mixture of DCB and chloroform. The results reveal that the mixture of solvent produces a better solubility of the polymeric materials compared to that of the pure single solvent.