Proton radiation effects of conjugated polymer thin films

ABSTRACT

Polymeric-thin-film-based electronic and optoelectronic materials and devices are attractive for potential space and certain radiation-related applications due to their inherent features such as lightweight, flexible, biocompatible, etc. Proton radiation is a major form of ionizing radiation in space, particularly in the so-called inner Van Allen belt region where most near-earth satellites are orbiting, yet very few literature and data are available on proton radiation effects on conjugated polymer systems. In this report, the proton radiation effects on potential electronic/optoelectronic properties of several conjugated polymers and their composites are briefly evaluated. Specifically, UV–VIS absorption spectra of several conjugated polymers and/or their composite thin films were measured and compared right before and after the proton radiations at different dosages. The results revealed that proton radiation has very little or insignificant impact up to 800 rad on the optoelectronic properties of poly-3-hexyl-thiophene (P3HT), P3HT:PC₆₀BM blend, a light harvesting donor-bridge-acceptor (DBA) and a novel donor-bridge-fluorinated-acceptor (DBfA)-type block copolymer thin films.

KEYWORDS:

• Materials testing
• materials stability
• proton radiation
• conjugated polymer
• space applications
• optoelectronic properties

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Drs Michael Sivertz and Adam Rusek at NSRL, and Mr Abram Ledbetter at BNL for their assistance on sample measurements.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported, in part, by research and educational grant awards from a number of sponsors including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE Award # DE-EE-0004002), Army Research Office (ARO Award #W911NF-15-1-0422), and the National Science Foundation (NSF Award # HRD-1547771).