Effect of Confinement on Modulus and Fracture of Thin Conjugated Polymer Films For Organic Electronics*

In this talk, I will discuss our research on understanding the glass transition phenomena and thin-film mechanical property for those rigid conjugated polymers. This class polymers are electronically active and find great potential in future solution-processed electronics. Since those polymers are predominantly used in thin-film devices ( e.g. <100nm), thus confinement effect plays a key role in those thin films. I will discuss our research journey using a thin-film tensile tester to study those novel class of polymers down to 20nm supported on the water surface. Specifically, we found the confinement effect plays a critical role in the modulus and fracture behavior of polymeric materials. I will also discuss the effect of the backbone rigidity on the thin film mechanical property studied by neutron scattering.