Designing molecular p-n heterojunction structures, i.e., electron donor-acceptor contacts, is one of the central challenges for further development of organic electronic devices. In the present study, a well-defined p-n heterojunction of two representative molecular semiconductors, pentacene and C60, formed on the single-crystal surface of pentacene is precisely investigated in terms of its growth behavior and crystallographic structure. C60 assembles into a (111)-oriented face-centered-cubic crystal structure with a specific epitaxial orientation on the (001) surface of the pentacene single crystal. The present experimental findings provide molecular scale insights into the formation mechanisms of the organic p-n heterojunction through an accurate structural analysis of the single-crystalline molecular contact.

The structure and morphology of mixed thin films of picene (C 22 H 14 , PIC) and perfluoropentacene (C 22 F 14 , PFP) as well as mixed thin films of PIC and pentacene (C 22 H 14 , PEN) grown by simultaneous coevaporation is investigated using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and near-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy. For both systems we find mixing on the molecular level and the formation of mixed structures. However, due to the strongly different interactions in both mixtures the ordering is fundamentally different. For the equimolar PFP:PIC mixtures, we observe the formation of two different mixed polymorphs with unit cells containing 2 PIC and 2 PFP molecules depending on the growth temperature. One of these polymorphs is a superlattice with in-plane compound segregation. The other polymorph is less symmetric and results only in a very short ranged in-plane ordering. In contrast, the PEN:PIC mixtures form crystals with unit cell parameters continuously changing with the molar concentrations between those of the pure compounds. The position of molecular species within the crystal lattice is statistical. Surprisingly, for higher concentrations of PIC we observe phase separation of surplus PIC molecules which corresponds to a limited intermixing of the two compounds. Finally, the results are discussed in the context of other organic semiconductor binary mixtures showing that besides chemical composition and steric compatibility the intramolecular arrangement of the atoms important for intermolecular interactions significantly influences the structure formation in organic semiconductor blends.

The length-scale of phase separation in organic semiconductor donor-acceptor mixtures, while being crucially important for applications, is a non-trivial parameter to control in non-equilibrium thin film growth. We present a comprehensive study of all the important parameters that can be used to tailor the length-scale of phase separation in organic semiconductor mixtures. We employed different substrate temperatures, different growth rates, time-dependent deposition rates, and surface functionalization layers. We found not only that the substrate temperature is most prominent in influencing the length-scale of phase separation in the studied parameter range, but also that other routes can be used to tailor this length-scale. V

Binary mixed thin films of picene (C22H14, PIC) and pentacene (C22H14, PEN) consist of crystallites with a statistical occupation of the lattice sites by either PEN or PIC and unit cell parameters continuously changing with the mixing ratio. For high PIC ratios a PIC phase forms which corresponds to a limited intermixing of the two compounds. The growth behavior of these mixtures is investigated in situ and in real‐time using grazing incidence X‐ray diffraction. We observe a delayed phase separation in PIC‐rich blends, i.e. complete intermixing in the monolayer range and the nucleation of a pure PIC‐phase in addition to the intermixed phase starting from the second monolayer.

In order to investigate the effects of intermolecular interactions on the optical properties of organic semiconductors, we employ mixing of the organic semiconductor perfluoropentacene (PFP; C22F14) with the wide band-gap organic semiconductor picene (PIC; C22H14). The binary mixed thin films are prepared by simultaneous coevaporation of PIC and PFP in vacuum. We determine the optical properties of the blends by differential reflectance spectroscopy (absorption) and photoluminescence (emission). PFP:PIC thin films are a rare case of mixed thin films with a known molecular packing. The formation of equimolar mixed domains with a crystal structure clearly different from that of the pure compounds is, in the case of nonequimolar blends, accompanied by pure domains of the excess compound. Due to the wide band gap of PIC, the effect of reduced intermolecular interactions between PFP molecules can be studied in detail without any direct contributions of PIC to the spectra. We find a strongly enhanced emission from PFP in the mixed thin films, which can be explained by decoupling. Real-time investigations of the absorption spectra during growth provide further insight into intermolecular coupling effects on optical properties.