Solvent Annealing Induced Perpendicular Orientation of Cylindrical Microdomains in Polystyrene-b-poly(4-hydroxyl styrene)/PEG Oligomer Blend Thin Film Made by Spin-coating from Selective Solvent

Orientation of Microphase in Polystyrene-b-polyisoprene Thin Film under Solvent Vapor Annealing

“…We first investigated the microphase development process in 600 nm thick SI-1 films under SVA with THF (neutral solvent). Because the spin-coated state has a significant effect on the pathway of orientation change during SVA, ,, all samples were prepared by spin-coating from toluene solutions to a similar thickness (500–600 nm). The as-spun film shows latent vertical alignment of the microphase resulting from the evaporation direction of the solvent during spin-coating (see Figure S2).…”

“…In solvent vapor annealing (SVA), polymer chain mobility is promoted by solvent swelling and orientation control of the nanostructure is reported to be possible without additional processes. ,,, In addition, it has other advantages such as low risk to thermal degradation, short process time and control of domain size. , Therefore, many theoretical ,− and experimental studies − have been performed to understand the morphology development process during SVA.…”

“…Most SVA studies of BCP thin film could be classified into two different processes: One is to develop ordered phase in the swollen state, ,,− , and the other is to swell BCP to the disordered state and to develop an ordered phase during the deswelling process. ,− In the former SVA process, the latent morphology in the spin-coated state is considered to play an important role for the orientation control, ,, while in the latter SVA process the memory of the spin-coated state is completely erased and the solvent evaporation (drying) rate plays an important role to control the orientation of the ordered phase. This study is for the former SVA process since it is more widely used in the recent SVA studies, and the phase development and orientation process in the swollen film can be monitored in real time by grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). ,,,,− ,, In addition, we observed a better vertically oriented cylinder phase from the former SVA process.…”

“…Previous SVA studies have reported that BCP nanostructures with various orientations can be obtained by controlling solvent selectivity, − ,,, swelling ratio (SR) of BCP films, , annealing time, ,, and/or initial spin-coating state (film thickness and solvent removal rate). While many successful orientation controls have been reported, they have not considered the aforementioned factors comprehensively, and sometimes seemingly conflicting results have been reported. − , …”

Fabrication of efficient organic and hybrid solar cells by fine channel mist spray coating

“…However, there is inherently a large amount of waste of materials in spin-coating and it is not compatible with roll to roll or large area manufacturing. Among the other solution processes recently used for the fabrication of OSCs, such as screen printing [37], doctor blading [38], inkjet printing [39,40], and spray process 3 [41][42][43][44][45][46][47], the spray process is considered as one of the most promising. This is largely due to the fact that the spray coating process can be done at high production speed and is compatible with various substrates since the sprayed droplets are transferred from the spray nozzle to the substrate without direct contact with the surface.…”