Dalia G. Yablon and Andy H. Tsou, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering, Clinton, NJ

A commercial impact copolymer (ICP), amulticomponent material typically used inautomotive and appliance applications where a balance of stiffness and toughness is needed, was studied with the NanoRack™ Sample Stretching Stage accessory on the MFP-3D™Atomic Force Microscope to investigate material deformation and interface adhesion as a function of tensile stress. Effects of deformation were observed within both the polypropylene  and ethylene-propylene components, as well as at the interface between the two materials. There are no other direct measurement methods available to determine interfacial adhesive strength of polymer blends, and so AFM investigations of micro-domain deformation such as the one described here could be used ultimately to provide a direct determination of interfacial adhesion in complex polymer containing materials such as ICP. Studies of this kind improve our understanding of material structure-propertyrelationships, ultimately enabling manufacture of better quality products. Application to Impact Copolymer (ICP) The commercial impact copolymer used for this study is composed of a polypropylene (PP) matrix with micron-sized domains of ethylene-propylene (EP) rubber domains produced in a serial polymerization reactor. Dogbone-shaped samples were molded of the impact copolymer measuring at ~20mm (middle straight part of dogbone) by ~4mm in width by 0.2mm thickness. A portion of the straight part of the dogbone was cryo-faced at -120°C with a cryomicrotome to ensure a smooth sample and to remove the thin polymer

Figure 1: Stress (Newtons) vs. time (seconds) curve of ICP as it is being stretched on the NanoRack. surface layer that forms during the compression molding process (also referred to as a ‘polymer skin’), leaving a small and smooth surface area in the middle of the dogbone that was suitable for imaging. The sample was mounted into a NanoRack Sample Stretching Stage with smooth grips. The NanoRack is a high-strain, high-travel manual stretching stage that provides two-axis stress control of tensile loaded samples and also allows control of the sample image region under different loads. Automatic load cell calibration provides integrated force measurements with MFP-3D images or other measurements and returns both stress and strain data. Figure 1 shows real-time stress vs. time curves of the ICP as the sample is being pulled in the NanoRack. The baseline force is

Organic Photovoltaic Materials and Devices

Rajiv Giridharagopal, Guozheng Shao, Chris Groves, and David S. Ginger Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

Abstract

Organic solar cells hold promise as an economical means of harvesting solar energy due to their ease of production and processing. However, the efficiency of such organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices is currently below that required for widespread adoption. The efficiency of an OPV is inextricably linked to its nanoscale morphology. High-resolution metrology can play a key role in the discovery and optimization of new organic semiconductors in the lab, as well as assist the transition of OPVs from the lab to mass production. We review the instrumental issues associated with the application of scanning probe microscopy techniques such as photoconductive atomic force microscopy and time-resolved electrostatic force microscopy that have been shown to be useful in the study of nanostructured organic solar cells. These techniques offer unique insight into the underlying heterogeneity of OPV devices and provide a nanoscale basis for understanding how morphology directly affects OPV operation. Finally, we discuss opportunities for further improvements in scanning probe microscopy to contribute to OPV development. All measurements and imaging discussed in this application note were performed with an Asylum Research MFP-3D-BIO™ Atomic Force Microscope.

Introduction

OPV materials are an emerging alternative technology for converting sunlight into electricity. OPVs are potentially very inexpensive to process, highly scalable in terms of manufacturing, and compatible with mechanically flexible substrates. In an OPV device, semiconducting polymers or small organic molecules are used to accomplish the functions of collecting solar photons, converting the photons to electrical charges, and transporting the charges to an external circuit as a useable current.1-3

At present, the most intensely-studied and highest-performing OPV systems are those that employ bulk heterojunction (or BHJ) blends as the active layer, with NREL-certified power conversion efficiencies improving seemingly monthly, and currently standing at 6.77%.4 In a bulk heterojunction blend, the donor and acceptor material are typically mixed in solution, and the mixture is then coated on the substrate to form the active layer. The donor/acceptor pair can consist of two different conjugated polymers, but it is often a conjugated polymer (donor) and a soluble fullerene derivative (acceptor).

Information on mechanical properties is important in many applications. AM-FM Viscoelastic Mapping Mode lets you quickly and gently image viscoelastic properties including storage modulus and loss tangent with nanoscale spatial resolution. Its very wide operating range, from less than 1 MPa to hundreds of GPa, makes it a highly versatile technique. AM-FM Mode is available on all MFP-3D™ and Cypher™ family AFMs and is one of many options in Asylum’s NanomechPro™ Toolkit for nanomechanical measurements.

Capabilities and Benefits

Asylum’s exclusive AM-FM Viscoelastic Mapping Mode1 is a flexible, convenient tool for nanomechanical characterization. With a range of applicability that spans a remarkable six orders of magnitude in storage modulus (from less than 1 MPa to hundreds of GPa), it is a general-purpose technique for anything from biomaterials and polymers to metals and ceramics. AM-FM Mode provides elastic information including storage modulus, Young’s modulus, and contact stiffness and viscoelastic information including viscoelastic loss tangent and loss modulus. AM-FM Mode gets results by operating at two cantilever resonances simultaneously. As the name indicates, the first resonance is used for tapping mode imaging, also known as amplitude modulation (AM), while a higher resonance mode is operated in frequency modulation (FM). At resonance, the cantilever frequency and phase respond sensitively to changes in sample properties. Small frequency and phase shifts can be measured with very high precision and accuracy, reducing uncertainty and increasing sensitivity. You can use raw output signals to quickly visualize relative contrast and identify sample components; or you can use the observed amplitude, phase, and frequency data to make quantitative estimates of mechanical properties based on built-in or your own models.

Because AM-FM Mode works like tapping mode in the repulsive regime, it is familiar and straightforward to use. It also has the other advantages of tapping mode including fast scanning, high spatial resolution, and gentle forces. On high speed, low-noise systems such as Asylum’s Cypher S and ES AFMs, modulus mapping in AM-FM Mode can routinely operate at line scan rates as fast as 20 Hz (equivalent tip velocity 300 μm/s) and forces as low as 50 pN.2 Low forces mean less sample deformation, typically only a few nanometers, which both minimizes damage and maximizes spatial resolution. Because the FM amplitude is just a tiny fraction of the AM amplitude and is at a different frequency, topographic imaging operates the same as in standard tapping mode. This makes AM-FM Mode very stable and reliable to operate.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is able to reveal many properties about a material. Most commonly, it is used to obtain topographical information, but it can also probe mechanical stiffness, electrical conductance, resistivity, and magnetism. Researchers have used it to study interactions between enzymes and their substrates1, structural changes in injured or diseased tissue2, macromolecular interactions between lipids3 and analysis of nucleic acid organization and structure4, to name a few applications. AFM performs analyses on a micro and nanoscale, allowing it to quantify phenomena as miniscule as van der Waals forces, electrostatic interactions, and molecular bonds5. AFM is also able to produce high-resolution, detailed images of sample surfaces, displaying micro and nanoscale properties of materials as flat as cleaved mica or as non-uniform as a cell. An interesting aspect to AFM is its ability to measure multiple micro- and nanoscale properties in a single test on samples that are unfixed, unstained, and alive. Of particular use in many fields is the imultaneous measurement of topographical features and mechanical properties.

Traditional light microscopy is able to reveal a wealth of information about a sample, especially a biological one. Light microscopy can tell investigators the shape of a cell, localization of subcellular structures within the cell, and even organization of cellular infrastructure, among many other parameters. But a limitation with these optical data is that we are unable to measure, in a directly quantifiable way, the mechanical properties of that cell; these properties give investigators important information about the cell’s cytoskeletal organization and phenotype. The cell’s stiffness, quantified by measuring the elastic modulus of the cell, is different at various points across its surface; cells tend to be softer over the cytoplasm and stiffer over cytoskeletal structures. Generally speaking, AFM is able to assess both mechanical and topographical properties of any material, including cells, simultaneously in a single assay.