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Fundamental Insights into Crystallization and Microphase Separation of Conjugated Block Copolymers
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ACS Macro Letters

Cite this: ACS Macro Lett. 2026, 15, 3, 349–367
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https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.5c00805
Published March 1, 2026

Copyright © 2026 American Chemical Society. This publication is licensed under these Terms of Use.

Abstract

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Conjugated polymer-based block copolymers (BCPs) are important materials as they incorporate the optoelectronic properties of conjugated polymers and unique microphase-separated properties of BCPs. The ability to tailor the two basic phase behaviors (crystallization and microphase separation) within conjugated BCPs is highly desirable to not only control their physical properties, but also strengthen the fundamental understanding of rod-like BCPs. However, the crystallization of semirigid conjugated polymers has not been well elucidated compared to traditional flexible polymers. Moreover, the phase behaviors of conjugated BCPs are much less understood than those of classical coil–coil BCPs from both theoretical and experimental aspects. In this Viewpoint we begin with a brief introduction of chain stiffness and the crystallization of conjugated polymers. After introducing the phase behaviors of BCPs including coil–coil, rod–coil, and rod–rod types, we discuss recent advances in the interplay and competition between crystallization and microphase separation within conjugated BCPs, as well as their applications in organic electronics. Finally, ongoing challenges and future perspectives will be discussed.

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Copyright © 2026 American Chemical Society

1. Introduction

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Conjugated polymers have attracted great attention in organic electronics, particularly wearable and flexible devices, because of their solution processability, flexibility, and facile large-area manufacture. (1−3) The macroscopic charge mobility (μ) is one of the most important parameters to quantify the device performance, which is determined by both the chemical structures of conjugated polymers and their multilevel microstructures in the solid state. (4,5) On one hand, a large number of new systems have been crafted, benefiting from the development of synthetic technology. (6−8) Through iterative molecular design refinement, the mobilities of some donor–acceptor (D-A) copolymers have exceeded 10 cm2 V–1 s–1. (9−11) On the other hand, conjugated polymers interact weakly with each other and yield complicated microstructures across length scales, which are dependent heavily on their crystallization process. (12) However, the crystallization of semirigid conjugated polymers has not been well elucidated compared to traditional flexible polymers. Precisely controlling the multilevel microstructures of conjugated polymers is very challenging.
Introducing conjugated polymers into block copolymers (BCPs) is another promising approach to control their microstructures. (13,14) BCPs can microphase-separate into meso- and nanostructures because of thermodynamically incompatible characteristics between different blocks. Therefore, conjugated BCPs incorporate the unique microphase separation properties of BCPs and semiconductive properties of conjugated polymers. (15−18) For example, BCPs consisting of covalently linked donors and acceptors are promising materials for a single-component photoactive layer in organic photovoltaics as they microphase-separate into nanostructures on the 10 nm length scale, which could meet the typical exciton diffusion length after photoexcitation. (19) With the development of synthetic techniques, a variety of conjugated polymer-based BCPs have been synthesized, and their microstructures at multiple length scales as well as different applications in organic devices have been demonstrated. (20−23)
Notably, due to the high twist potential and impeded rotation of carbon–carbon bonds in conjugated polymers, they have more rigid backbones than traditional flexible polymers, such as polyethylene. (24,25) Thus, conjugated polymers are often regarded as rod-type polymers, exhibiting semirigid characteristics. Moreover, multiple molecular interactions among conjugated backbones and alkyl side chains complicate their chain conformation and crystallization behaviors. These distinct properties of conjugated polymers make it challenging to develop well-established crystallization theories compared with flexible polymers. Therefore, the interplay and competition between two basic and important phase behaviors, i.e., crystallization and microphase separation within conjugated polymer-based BCPs, have not been understood, as well as classical coil–coil BCPs. (15,26)
In this Viewpoint we highlight recent advances in the microphase separation and crystallization behaviors of conjugated BCPs, mainly focusing on poly(3-alkylthiophene)s (P3ATs)-based BCPs. First, the chain stiffness of conjugated polymers and their crystallization behaviors are discussed. After a short introduction of the phase behaviors of three types of BCPs, that is, coil–coil, rod–coil, and rod–rod types, the crystallization and microphase separation of representative P3AT-based conjugated BCPs are discussed. Subsequently, their applications in organic electronics are illustrated by examples. In the end, current challenges and an outlook on this field are provided. Main contents are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Figure 1. Schematic of the main content of this Viewpoint.

2. Crystallization of Conjugated Polymers

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The flexible polymers have flexible backbones, making them readily fold and entangle with each other during crystal formation. (27) Differently, conjugated polymers have more rigid backbones due to the hindered rotational motion of C–C bonds, which play a pivotal role in determining their ability to fold during the crystallization process. (28−30)

Chain Stiffness of Conjugated Polymers

The chain stiffness of polymers can be quantified by the persistence length (lp). (28,31) One can comprehend that lp describes the tendency that a chain maintains its directionality and how long the chain needs to bend over 90°. (24) The ratio of lp to the contour length (Lc) influences the conformation of a single chain and reflects the competition between the conformational entropy and the bending energy. (32,33) According to the degree of chain stiffness, polymers can be divided into coil-like (flexible, lp is far smaller than Lc), semirigid (semiflexible, lp is comparable to Lc), and rigid rod-like polymers (lp is much larger than Lc) (Figure 2a).

Figure 2

Figure 2. (a) Chain conformation for coil-like, semirigid, and rod-like polymers. Chain rigidity increases with an increased ratio of the chain persistence length (lp) to the contour length (Lc). Reproduced with permission from ref (28) and modified. Copyright 2022 American Chemical Society. (b) Depiction of hindered rotation model (ri: backbone displacement vectors, θi: deflection angles, ϕi: dihedral angles). Reproduced with permission from ref (25). Copyright 2014 American Chemical Society. (c) The correlation between the end-to-end distance squared normalized by the persistence length squared (⟨h2⟩/lp2) and the persistence length per chain (L/lp) in the freely rotating worm-like chain model. Reproduced with permission from ref (31). Copyright 2017 Royal Society of Chemistry.

The persistence length lp can be estimated by the hindered rotation chain model. (25) The backbone of the conjugated polymer can be described as a series of backbone displacement vectors ri of fixed length l, and the deflection angle between adjacent backbone vectors ri and ri–1 is θi (Figure 2b). The backbone vector rotates by a dihedral angle of ϕi. As a result, lp can be extracted by integrating over the distributed dihedral angles. If the dihedral potential is simplified as a constant, the hindered rotation model can be simplified as the freely rotating chain model, which can describe the continuous transition of the chain conformation between the rod-like and the coil-like regime (Figure 2c). (31)
Conjugated polymers are usually semirigid chains, and their lp can be very different from several nanometers to tens of nanometers. For example, the lp of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is ∼2.8 nm, (34) larger than that of flexible polymers (e.g., polyethylene, ∼0.7 nm). (35) Poly(2-methoxy-5-(2’-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylenevinylene) (MEH-PPV) has a lp of ∼6 nm, which can extend to 40 nm when introducing large bulky side groups to the PPV derivatives. (36,37) Polyfluorene and poly(p-phenylene) have a lp of ∼7 and 28 nm, respectively. (38−41) For D–A copolymers, their lp values are generally larger than 5 nm. For example, diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based copolymers, difluorobenzothiadiazole (ffBT)-based copolymers and PM6 have a lp of ∼7.9, 12.5, and 11.5 nm, respectively. (42−44) From an experimental perspective, lp values can be obtained from small-angle neutron/X-ray scattering, light scattering, and viscosity measurement, etc. (45−49) From a computational perspective, they can be obtained from density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulation, etc. (31)
It is important to note that these lp values reported were not always measured by using the same methodologies. Moreover, due to the semirigid nature of conjugated backbones and strong π-π interactions, etc., conjugated polymers have a strong tendency to aggregate. Measurements on aggregated structures can significantly overestimate the chain rigidity. Therefore, performing scattering techniques at elevated temperatures could efficiently suppress interchain aggregation and ensure to probe single-chain conformation. (50,51)

Crystallization of Conjugated Polymers

In contrast to many developed crystallization theories for flexible polymers, the theory for conjugated polymer crystallization has been less explored. (52−56) Polymer crystallization kinetics include nucleation (homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation) and growth, which influence their crystal structures and sizes greatly. (57,58) The homogeneous nucleation process is commonly described by the classical nucleation theory (CNT). The change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG) is the driving force for its nucleation from the liquid to the solid. The ΔG consists of two components, that is, the volume terms (ΔGv) and the surface terms (ΔGs), which can be expressed by the equation: (59−63)
ΔG=ΔGv+ΔGs=4πr33Δgsl+4πr2σ
(1)
where r, Δgsl, and σ refer to the radius of a nucleus, the bulk free energy per unit volume and surface energy per unit area, respectively. With the propagation of a nucleus, the ΔGv is decreased in proportion to r, (3) while the ΔGs is increased in proportion to r2 (Figure 3a). Thus, ΔG increases first to a maximum value (ΔG*) and then decreases.

Figure 3

Figure 3. (a) Diagram of free energy change with increased nucleus radius based on classical nucleation theory (CNT). Reproduced with permission from ref (60) and modified. Copyright 2019 American Chemical Society. (b) Schematic of the P3HT chain conformation from extended to folded with increased molecular weight. Reproduced with permission from ref (66) and modified. Copyright 2009 American Chemical Society. (c, d) Schematic of (c) a 1D crystal prism model and (d) the possible chain packing in a P3HT lamella. Reproduced with permission from ref (70) and modified. Copyright 2010 Elsevier. (e) Schematic of coexisting ordered crystalline regions and disordered amorphous regions in conjugated polymer thin films. Reproduced with permission from ref (12) and modified. Copyright 2013 Nature Publishing Group.

Because the crystallization of conjugated polymers is largely influenced by their chain rigidity and the presence of complex and anisotropic molecular interactions, we discuss how these characteristics affect the crystallization structures and kinetics of conjugated polymers. The rigidity of conjugated polymer backbones limits the conformational changes and results in a lower conformational entropy. Thus, the bending energy dominates their chain conformation, making the chain folding more difficult compared with flexible polymers. For P3ATs with relatively flexible chains, chain folding also happens, thus the Hoffman–Lauritzen (HL) theory can be applied to analyze their crystallization growth process. (56,64) The chain folding for P3HT was first observed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. (65) The folded region can be attributed to the cis conformation of 7–10 hexylthiophene units, in contrast to the all-trans conformation in the extended region (Figure 3b). (66) For conjugated polymers with more rigid chains, such as some D–A copolymers and conjugated ladder-type polymers, they typically adopt an extended chain configuration in crystalline structures and chain folding is not observed. (54,67)
As for anisotropic molecular interactions of conjugated polymers, they can be classified from three directions: alkyl side chains, backbones, and π–π stacking. Among them, the π–π interaction along the π–π stacking direction is usually considered to be the most effective force to drive crystallization. (16,31,68) We hypothesize that once conjugated segments (or stems) attach onto the crystal surface, it is more difficult for them to depart compared to flexible polymers. A recent study also points out alkyl side-chain interactions significantly influence the packing of conjugated backbones. (69) The crystallization of alkyl side chains and conjugated backbones are competing, and a longer buffer side chain could alleviate this competition and improve the packing of conjugated backbones.
When conjugated polymers crystallize from the solution, the interfacial energy between the crystal surfaces and solvent is taken into account. The dimensions of one-dimensional (1D) crystal prism are L1, L2, and L3, corresponding to the π–π stacking (010) direction, the alkyl side chain (100) direction, and the conjugated backbone (010) direction, respectively (Figure 3c,d). (70) The interfacial energies between solvent and each crystal surface per unit area are σ1 (perpendicular to the π–π stacking direction), σ2 (perpendicular to the side chain direction), and σ3 (perpendicular to the conjugated backbone direction), respectively (Figure 3c). Moreover, the interaction energies between two adjacent polymer chains per unit area along the backbone, side chain, and π–π stacking directions are denoted as ε1, ε2, and ε3, respectively (Figure 3d). According to theoretical calculations, the equilibrium anisotropy of the crystal can be expressed by the following equation: (70)
L1σ1+ε32=L2σ2+ε22=L3σ3+ε12
(2)
Since the π–π interaction along the L1 direction is dominant over other interactions, its denominator (σ1+ε32) is the largest among the three. Thus, the corresponding dimension (L1) is the largest. Therefore, conjugated polymers such as P3ATs tend to form 1D nanowire or fibril structures and have an aspect ratio over 1000. (71−73) However, for D–A copolymers, due to their higher chain rigidity, the length axis is along the backbone direction. (74−76) Taking P3ATs as examples, their crystallization and microstructures involve single chains and multichain packing to crystalline and amorphous regions and up to the overall assembly morphology. (77−81) In a large scale, P3ATs typically exhibit a heterogeneous structure containing both ordered crystalline and disordered amorphous regions (Figure 3e). (12)
Because polymer crystallization usually needs long relaxation time to arrive at thermodynamic equilibrium, they have various metastable states and their crystallization kinetics are often influenced by external factors. Avrami analysis can be used to analyze the isothermal crystallization kinetics of conjugated polymers, based on the expression X(t) = 1 – exp[−k(tt0)n], where k is the rate constant, t0 is the induction time, and n is the Avrami exponent that depicts the dimensionality and mechanism of crystal growth. (82) For example, the Avrami exponent of poly(3-(2′-ethyl)hexylthiophene) (P3EHT) was ∼3, indicating a three-dimensional crystal growth and heterogeneous nucleation. (83) When changing the side chains of P3ATs from linear to branched structure, their crystallization rate was dramatically decreased to 6 orders of magnitude. (84)

3. Phase Behaviors of Different Types of BCPs

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The ability to tune the crystallization and microphase separation is important to strengthen the fundamental understanding of rod-like BCPs. (15,85) Before discussing specific BCPs, the phase behaviors of three classes of BCPs (coil–coil, rod–coil, and rod–rod types) are briefly discussed and compared.
As for classical coil–coil BCPs, their thermodynamically equilibrium structures are influenced by the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter (χ) between two blocks, polymerization degree of BCPs (N), and the volume fraction of different blocks (f) (Figure 4a). (86) The parameter χ is associated with the interactions between different blocks, and a positive χ means they are immiscible with each other, which happened in most systems. They can microphase-separate into various periodic nanostructures including lamellae, gyroids, cylinders, and spheres, etc. (Figure 4b). (87,88) Their separation strength between two blocks is mostly influenced by both enthalpy and entropy contributions, the product of χN. Usually, a stronger repulsive interaction between blocks (i.e., a larger χ) and a higher polymerization degree intensified the separated strength of BCPs and two regions are divided, i.e., strong separation (χN ≫ 10) and weak separation (χN ∼ 10). (88) In coil–coil BCPs, the domain period (L0) is proportional to χ1/6N2/3 and χ0N1/2 in strong separation limit and weak separation limit, respectively. (89,90) For the next generation lithography, it is highly desirable to fabricate coil–coil BCPs with high χ and low N to achieve sub-10 nm resolution for the next generation lithography. (91,92)

Figure 4

Figure 4. (a) Phase diagram of AB coil–coil BCPs in the melt state, showing the stability regions of different microphase-separated morphologies. Reproduced with permission from ref (86). Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society. (b) Schematic of representative morphologies formed by AB coil–coil BCPs due to microphase separation. (c) Phase diagrams of wormlike AB BCPs with different chain rigidities (L/a = 10, 4, 2, 1) and (d) schematic of morphologies formed in AB BCPs containing semiflexible chains. Reproduced with permission from ref (104). Copyright 2013 American Physical Society.

Some techniques have been used to measure χ in polymer blends and BCPs, such as small-angle X-ray scattering, (93−95) small-angle neutron scattering, (96) differential scanning calorimetry measurements, (97) and contact angle measurements. (98) This parameter χ can also be estimated or calculated by random phase approximation theory, (96,99) or using the semiempirical approach based on the solubility parameter, (100) etc. As previously reported, (101) significantly different χ were obtained via different experimental techniques for a given system. Even using one experimental technique, the uncertainty about molecular parameters (e.g., tacticity, chemical modification, molar masses) and experimental conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, and moisture) may impact the extracted value for χ. These factors make it challenging to measure the χ. Thus, only a few experimental data were available for a small number of model blends and BCPs.
Compared to coil–coil BCPs, theoretical and experimental analyses of rod–coil and rod–rod BCPs are much less studied due to the rigid characteristics of rod blocks and more difficult synthesis. The rod-like block had a high bending energy and thus constrained bending. The anisotropic interaction and rigid characteristics of the rod block facilitate an orientationally ordered packing, resulting in different self-assembly behavior from coil–coil BCPs. Two additional structural parameters are introduced to describe the microphase-separated behavior of rod–coil BCPs. (19,102) The Maier–Saupe interaction strength (μN) describes the alignment interactions among rod blocks. Changing the molecular structures of conjugated polymers such as their alkyl side chains and regioregularity (RR) is efficient to adjust their rod–rod interaction. (103) Geometrical asymmetry parameter (v) is the other parameter, depicting the packing frustration of coil and rod blocks. The μN competes with χN in the rod–coil BCPs. In addition, a larger difference in the stiffness of rod and coil blocks will facilitate microphase separation at lower N. As for the domain period, the rigid block may lead to the persistence length on the same size scale as the domain period so that the scaling relationship between L0 and N developed in coil–coil BCPs may not be applicable for rod–coil BCPs.
The phase behavior of semiflexible and rod-like BCPs has been described by wormlike chain model, which is dependent on the chain stiffness L/a (L: the contour length, a: the Kuhn length), separation strength χN, and volume fraction f (Figure 4c,d). (104) In the flexible region (L/a ≫ 1), BCPs exhibit Gaussian chain conformation and form commonly observed structures such as lamella, hexagonally ordered cylinder, spheres, etc. When the chains are semiflexible, the structures with curved interfaces (e.g., hexagonally ordered cylinder and spheres) shrink, whereas lamella and gyroids expand their stability regions. The lamella further dominates the phase diagram in the rod-like region (L/a = 1), accompanied by the disappearance of spheres.
Due to the semicrystalline properties of conjugated polymers, phase behaviors of conjugated BCPs are greatly influenced by the interplay between microphase separation and crystallization. (105−107) When the separation strength χN is high enough, one or both components can crystallize within conventional microphase-separated structures (termed confined crystallization). In contrast, crystallization can break out and thus dominate the film morphology (denoted as breakout crystallization) at low χN. The crystallization of rod–coil BCPs is affected by their composition, the crystallization temperature (Tc) of the rod block, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the coil block, and the BCP order–disorder transition temperature (TODT). Considering the shorter length scales involved in crystallization, the crystallization is usually faster than microphase separation.
Notably, herein, we focused on the phase behaviors of different BCPs in the solid state. If the BCPs are in solutions, their phase behaviors are greatly controlled by polymer–solvent interactions, (108,109) which often differ substantially from those in the solid state. Variation of the solvent selectivity is an effective way to tailor the microphase-separated degree of the BCPs. In addition to the solvent type, polymer concentration, solution temperature, and solution aging can further influence the phase behaviors of BCPs in solution. (18)

4. Tailoring Crystallization and Microphase Separation of Conjugated BCPs

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Within conjugated BCPs, the interplay and competition between crystallization and microphase separation can be tailored by backbone and side chain engineering (e.g., molecular weight (MW), regioregularity (RR), block ratio, backbone structure, block sequence, alkyl side chain, and side chain functionalization) and extrinsic film-processing factors (e.g., processing solvent, film-forming method, and post-treatment thermal and solvent vapor annealing), either solely or in combination. In the following, we illustrate how these parameters influence their microphase separation and crystallization, mainly focusing on P3AT-based BCPs. Selected molecular structures of conjugated BCPs are given for clarity (Figure 5).

Figure 5

Figure 5. Representative chemical structures of conjugated BCPs in this Viewpoint.

Effect of Molecular Weight

From the separation strength χN, the separation strength is increased with the increased MW in coil–coil BCPs. Interestingly, several examples showed an opposite trend in conjugated rod–rod BCPs: they showed reduced microphase-separated strength with larger MW. (17,110) For example, the poly(3-dodecylthiophene)-block-poly(3-dodecylselenophene) (P3DDT-b-P3DDS) (P1, Figure 5) in the thermal-annealed film state displayed microphase-separated lamellar morphology at a low polymerization degree (N < 35) (Figure 6a). With the increased N, the BCP film showed cocrystallized fibers at medium N (N = 50–60) and patchy fibers at high N (N > 80). The BCP with the lowest polymerization degree showed the largest microphase-separated degree, which was contrary to that of conventional coil–coil BCPs.

Figure 6

Figure 6. (a) TEM images and the schematic of the annealed P3DDT-b-P3DDS thin films with the increased polymerization degree N. Reproduced with permission from ref (17). Copyright 2019 American Chemical Society. (b) 2D-GIWAXS images and (c) corresponding chain packing in drop-cast P3HT-b-PBTTT thin films with various molecular weights. Reproduced with permission from ref (112). Copyright 2024 American Chemical Society.

Similar trend was found in poly(3-butylthiophene)-block-poly(3-hexylselenophene) (P3BT-b-P3HS) (P2, Figure 5) and P3HT-block-poly(2,5-bis(3-alkylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (P3HT-b-PBTTT) (P3, Figure 5) thin films, in which different components within BCPs changed from microphase separation to their cocrystals with increased MW (Figure 6b,c). (111,112) We propose a possible reason for the formation of cocrystallization at larger MWs in P3BT-b-P3HS. Since P3HT and P3HS have similar chemical structures, they are able to cocrystallize. P3HT with smaller MWs had a stronger crystallization ability and faster chain mobility than those of larger MWs. (113) Thus, P3BT and P3HS crystallize separately at smaller MWs. At larger MWs, the weaker crystallization ability and lower chain mobility kinetically suppressed their respective crystallization and microphase separation from each other, yielding the cocrystallization of different blocks.
However, if the two blocks within BCPs have very similar chemical structures and crystallization kinetics, they may form cocrystals even at low MWs. For example, poly(3-butylthiophene)-block-poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3BT-b-P3HT) (114,115) with the MWs in the range of 12K–28K all formed cocrystals of P3BT and P3HT in their as-cast film state, possessing stronger cocrystallization ability than P3BT-b-P3HS and P3HT-b-PBTTT BCPs. (114) The cocrystals were usually kinetically controlled and unstable upon high-temperature thermal annealing, thus being transformed into microphase-separated structures.

Effect of Regioregularity

The RR is another key factor of conjugated BCPs because high RR P3ATs usually have stronger interchain interaction and crystallization than those of low RR. In the solution state, P3HT-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P3HT-b-P2VP) (P4, Figure 5) with high RR of P3HT (95%) formed conventional nanowires with the width of ∼12 nm in tetrahydrofuran/n-butanol mixtures, in which the P3HT blocks stacking normal to the long axis of the wire (Figure 7a). (116) In this case, the crystallization of rod-like P3HT dominated the self-assembled morphology of BCPs and thus formed nanowires. With the decreased RR of P3HT (65–85%), the nanowires had an increased width to ∼24 nm and then transitioned to spherical micelles at 55% RR. Because the decreased RR of P3HT greatly weakened its rod–rod interaction and crystallization, the BCP behaved like amorphous coil–coil BCPs and microphase-separated into spherical micelles. The P3HT crystallization could also drive the formation of P3HT-b-P2VP/CdSe hybrid nanowires, in which the coaxiality of CdSe quantum dots within the hybrid nanowires was influenced by the RR of P3HT. (117)

Figure 7

Figure 7. (a) Schematic and TEM images of P3HT-b-P2VP in the solution influenced by the RR of P3HT, demonstrating the morphology transformation from nanowires to micelles with the decreased RR. Reproduced with permission from ref (116). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. (b) TEM images of P3HT-b-P2VP with different contents of P3HT and RR values in the solid state. Reproduced with permission from ref (118). Copyright 2017 American Chemical Society. (c) Different crystalline orientations of P3HT-b-P3MEGT with high and low RR of P3HT in the solid state. Reproduced with permission from ref (120). Copyright 2022 American Chemical Society.

In the solid state, similar fibril-to-cylinder transition with decreased RR of P3HT could also be seen in P3HT-b-P2VP (Figure 7b). (118) In these BCPs, they had very similar χ values due to identical monomers, but the crystallization of P3HT block was highly tunable via changing its RR, thus influencing the balance between crystallization and microphase separation. The RR could also influence the melting of P3ATs, leading to different confined or breakout crystallization modes. Usually, to achieve confined crystallization within BCP microstructures, the BCP should have a TODT higher than the melting of the conjugated polymer, which is not readily to meet owing to their high melting temperatures. In poly(3-dodecylthiophene)-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P3DDT-b-P2VP) BCPs, the P3DDT at a low RR (70–80%) crystallized below the glass transition of P2VP and thus confined within the cylindrical or lamellar BCP microdomains. (119) At a higher RR (94%), P3DDT crystallized higher than the glass transition of P2VP, thus beyond the restriction of glassy P2VP domains.
The change in the RR can also tailor the crystal orientation of P3HT within BCPs in the solid state. In a P3HT-block-poly(3-(2-methoxyethoxy)methylthiophene) (P3HT-b-P3MEGT) BCP (P5, Figure 5), decreasing the RR of P3HT to 82% reduced the rod–rod interaction of P3HT and produced a lamellar nanostructure parallel to the substrate. (120) The BCP showed an end-on orientation with the backbone vertical to the substrate, which was desirable for vertically operating devices (Figure 7c).

Effect of Block Ratio

P3HT-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (P3HT-b-PEG) (P6, Figure 5) rod–coil BCP with the shortest length of P3HT displayed the coexisted microphase-separated and fibrillar structures when produced from anisole solution (Figure 8a). (121) The fibrillar morphology came from the strong rod–rod interaction and crystallization of P3HT. With the increased length of P3HT, the fibrillar morphology gradually became dominant. It indicated a balance between microphase separation of P3HT-b-PEG and P3HT crystallization adjusted by the P3HT/PEG block ratio. In rod–rod poly(3-butylthiophene)-block-poly(3-octylthiophene) (P3BT-b-P3OT) (P7, Figure 5), the BCPs assembled into nanowires in 1,2-dichlorobenzene with a narrow width of ∼13.5 nm and showed microphase separation between P3BT and P3OT at the block ratios of both 50:50 and 76:24 (Figure 8b). (122)

Figure 8

Figure 8. (a) TEM images of P3HT-b-PEG with the increased P3HT length when produced from an anisole solution. The schematic describes the chain packing influenced by the P3HT length or solvent. Reproduced with permission from ref (121). Copyright 2012 John Wiley and Sons. (b) TEM image of the P3BT-b-P3OT (50:50) in 1,2-dichlorobenzene and WAXD spectra of P3BT-b-P3OT (50:50 and 76:24). Reproduced with permission from ref (122) and modified. Copyright 2009 American Chemical Society. (c) Schematic of PPP-b-P3HT in various block ratios when produced from chlorobenzene and anisole, illustrating the preferential crystallization and microphase separation, respectively. Reproduced with permission from ref (123) and modified. Copyright 2016 Elsevier. (d) TEM images of PPP-b-P3HT (34:66 and 62:38) films annealed at 280 °C for 1 h, showing fibrillar morphology and microphase-separated nanoribbon morphology, respectively. Reproduced with permission from ref (13). Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society. (e) Three different epitaxy crystallization modes achieved in PPP-b-P3HT films during thermal annealing at different temperatures. Reproduced with permission from ref (124) and modified. Copyright 2015 American Chemical Society.

In another rod–rod BCP of poly(2,5-dihexyloxy-p-phenylene)-block-P3HT (PPP-b-P3HT) (P8, Figure 5), tuning the solvent selectivity could tailor the solvent–polymer interaction and rod–rod interaction of PPP-b-P3HT (68:32 and 48:52), which further affected both crystallization and microphase separation. (123) For the PPP-b-P3HT (68:32), it formed crystalline nanowires via the PPP crystallization overwhelming P3HT when produced from neutral solvent chlorobenzene, while it formed lamellar microphase-separated structures as-casting from anisole selective for PPP (Figure 8c). Due to the enhanced aggregation of P3HT in the anisole by solvophobic interaction, PPP and P3HT aggregated approximately equally, leading to the formation of lamella. The PPP-b-P3HT (48:52) displayed an opposite trend. Lamellar morphology formed from chlorobenzene, while the crystallization broke out of microphase separation from anisole (Figure 8c).
In the film state, since the P3HT crystallization was stronger than PPP, the final morphology of BCPs greatly depended on the P3HT/PPP block ratio. (13) The PPP-b-P3HT (34:66) with a higher content of P3HT showed a fibrillar morphology, characteristic of P3HT crystallization (Figure 8d). The P3HT crystallization broke out of the microphase-separated structure and formed fibrils. In contrast, increasing the PPP content to PPP-b-P3HT (62:38) led to microphase-separated nanoribbon morphology, and both PPP and P3HT crystallized within the domains. Different epitaxy crystallization modes were also observed in PPP-b-P3HT film during thermal annealing at different temperatures. (124) PPP block adopted a face-on orientation in the initial as-cast state. Depending on the annealing temperature relative to their melting temperatures, P3HT could induce the PPP to crystallize into an edge-on orientation or the PPP promoted the P3HT to form a face-on orientation (Figure 8e).

Effect of the Main Backbone

In the above contents, when discussing the influencing parameters of MW, RR, and block ratio, the main backbones in most BCPs were different as well. The main backbone structure directly changes the χ between two blocks in conjugated BCPs. To strengthen the microphase separation, a high χ between two blocks is highly desirable. It can be realized by introducing carbohydrate into the BCPs, and thus a series of BCPs containing P3HT and maltoheptaose (P3HT-b-Mal7) (P9, Figure 5) or acetylated maltoheptaose (P3HT-b-AcMal7) were synthesized. (125) Due to the hydrogen bonding among the hydroxyl groups of the Mal7 block, the microphase separation between P3HT and Mal7 was effectively inhibited, leading to the domination of P3HT crystallization and the formation of fibril-like structures in the films (Figure 9a). Differently, microphase separation dominated over the crystallization in P3HT-b-AcMal7, evidenced by sharp and multiple scattering peaks in the small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) image, producing microphase-separated lamellar structures. P3HT and AcMal7 were confined in the lamellae, where P3HT chains were tilted regarding the lamellar plane, and the AcMal7 chains were aligned side-by-side (Figure 9b). (126)

Figure 9

Figure 9. (a) AFM images of P3HT-b-Mal7 and P3HT-b-AcMal7 thin films after thermal annealing and their SAXS profiles in the as-cast state (black line) and after thermal annealing (red line). Reproduced with permission from ref (125). Copyright 2017 American Chemical Society. (b) TEM image of P3HT-b-AcMal7 thin film after annealing at 220 °C, with lamellar structure and the schematic of tilted P3HT chains with respect to the lamellar plane. Reproduced with permission from ref (126). Copyright 2020 American Chemical Society. (c) Schematic of the crystallization and microphase separation in P3HT-b-PFTBT films without (left) and with (right) inserting a certain content of the random copolymer, demonstrating dominated crystallization and microphase separation, respectively. Reproduced with permission from ref (127). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. (d) AFM images of P3HT-b-DPP films in the as-cast state and after thermal annealing at different temperatures. Reproduced with permission from ref (129). Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society. (e) Lorentz corrected SAXS images of P3HT-b-PPerAcr with different block ratios (left) and the corresponding TEM images (right), displaying lamellar and cylindrical morphology in bulk. Reproduced with permission from ref (130). Copyright 2013 American Chemical Society.

Inserting a random polymer into conjugated BCPs could also adjust the microphase separation and crystallization. By inserting a certain content of 3-octylthiophene (3OT) into the P3HT chains, the formed poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl-random-3-octylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P[3HT-r-3OT]) had weaker crystallization ability than P3HT. (127) Therefore, incorporating the P[3HT-r-3OT] into a D–A BCP with poly((9,9-dioctylfluorene-2,7-diyl)-alt-(4,7-di(thiophene-2-yl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole-5′,5″-diyl) (PFTBT) block led to greatly improved microphase separation in P[3HT-r-3OT]-b-PFTBT thin film than that in P3HT-b-PFTBT (P10, Figure 5) without the random copolymer (Figure 9c).
Conjugated BCPs containing both electron-donating and -accepting polymers can produce a nanostructured morphology with good control of D–A interfaces. P3HT-block-poly(diketopyrrolopyrrole–terthiophene) (P3HT-b-DPP) (P11, Figure 5) formed a lamellar structure in films containing alternated P3HT and DPP fibrillar domains upon spin-casting (Figure 9d). (128,129) After thermal annealing, their structural order was improved. At 200 and 225 °C, microphase separation between P3HT and DPP occurred with a less apparent morphology. Increasing the temperature to 265 °C, which was above both melting points of P3HT and DPP, a distinct and well-defined morphology was observed. In another crystalline-liquid crystalline D–A BCP, i.e., P3HT-block-poly(perylene bisimide acrylate) (P3HT-b-PPerAcr) (P12, Figure 5), high separation strength could be achieved to form confined crystallization with typical lamellar or cylindrical structures in bulk with different contents of PPerAcr block (Figure 9e). (130)

Effect of Block Sequence

In comparison to conjugated diblock copolymers, investigations into triblock copolymers are somewhat limited due possibly to relatively difficult synthesis. A unique structural parameter, i.e., block sequence is typically existed in triblock copolymers, and ABC, ACB, and CAB with different block sequences may have very different aggregation and crystallization behavior. (131) P3HT and poly(3-dodecylthiophene) (P3DDT) were selected as aggregating components and poly(3-(2-octyldodecyl)thiophene) (P3ODT) acted as a nonaggregating component due to the steric hindrance of the alkyl side chains. (132) In the solution, when the aggregating P3HT and P3DDT blocks were located at two terminals (P13, Figure 5), P3HT and P3DDT aggregated separately (Figure 10a). In contrast, when P3HT and P3DDT were adjacent, they aggregated as a whole in the solution.

Figure 10

Figure 10. (a) Schematic of the solution aggregation behavior of P3AT-based triblock copolymers dependent on the block sequence. Reproduced with permission from ref (132). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. (b) 2D-GIWAXS images of P3BT-b-P3AT-b-P3HS triblock copolymer thin films after two-stage heating process, and the schematic of chain packing in cocrystals and microphase-separated structures represented by P3BT-b-P3OT-b-P3HS. Reproduced with permission from ref (134). Copyright 2022 Elsevier. (c) AFM images and the corresponding schematic of ABA-type, AB-type, and BAB-type (block A: P3HT, block B: POO) in the annealed thin films. Reproduced with permission from ref (135). Copyright 2019 Royal Society of Chemistry.

Inspired by this thought, we designed a series of P3HT-block-poly[3-(6-bromohexyl)-thiophene]-block-poly(3-decylthiophene) (P3HT-b-P3BrHT-b-P3DT) with different lengths of P3BrHT (P14, Figure 5). (133) By attaching a bromine group to the side chains of P3HT, the central P3BrHT exhibited negligible crystallinity and acted as a linker between the two outer blocks. In the film state, the cocrystallization between terminal P3HT and P3DT gradually changed to microphase separation with an extended P3BrHT length, demonstrating the interplay between two terminal blocks at the molecular level.
In another conjugated triblock copolymers of poly(3-butylthiophene)-block-poly(3-alkylthiophene)-block-poly(3-hexylselenophene) (P3BT-b-P3AT-b-P3HS), the central P3AT block had an increased alkyl side chain of P3HT, P3OT, P3DT, or P3DDT (P15, Figure 5). (134) The central P3AT with a shorter alkyl chain and a shorter main backbone, along with a stronger cocrystallization ability between two terminal P3BT and P3HS, were observed to facilitate the cocrystals of the whole triblock copolymers in the film. From an earlier report, P3BT-b-P3HS (1:1) had a weaker cocrystallization ability than that of P3BT-b-P3HS (1:2). (22) As a result, P3BT-b-P3HT-b-P3HS (1:1:1), P3BT-b-P3OT-b-P3HS (1:0.5:1), and P3BT-b-P3DDT-b-P3HS (1:0.5:2), could retain cocrystals in the film even after high-temperature two-stage heating, while the other triblock copolymers microphase-separated under the same condition (Figure 10b).
The block sequence influences not only the crystallization but also the mechanical properties in conjugated triblock copolymers. After combining P3HT (block A) and elastic poly(octylene oxide) (POO, block B) into P3HT-b-POO (AB type), P3HT-b-POO-b-P3HT (ABA type, P16, Figure 5), and POO-b-P3HT-b-POO (BAB type) BCPs, the ABA type showed most loosely distributed nanofibrils in the annealed thin films, in contrast to the most densely distributed nanofibrils in the BAB type (Figure 10c). (135) After the strain of 100%, only the ABA type remained smooth without wrinkles, demonstrating the impact of the block sequence on the BCP mechanical property.

Effect of Alkyl Side Chain

The alkyl side chains (side chain length, linear or branched, etc.) of conjugated polymers not only endow polymers with sufficient solubility but also greatly influence the phase behaviors of conjugated BCPs. A early work demonstrated that compared to the cocrystallization of P3BT-b-P3HT, P3BT-b-P3DDT and P3HT-b-P3DDT preferred to microphase-separate from each other. (115) In comparison to P3HT, poly(3-(2′-ethyl)hexylthiophene) (P3EHT) with a modified branched alkyl chain had an improved solubility, much weakened rod–rod interaction and reduced crystallization ability. (136,137) Therefore, P3EHT could be introduced into BCPs to increase the solubility, weaken the crystallization strength, and induce the confined crystallization. Indeed, due to the improved solubility of P3EHT compared with P3HT, it could facilitate the solubility of P3EHT-block-polythiophene (P3EHT-b-PT) (P17, Figure 5) containing the insoluble PT block without alkyl side chains. (138) With the increased length of insoluble PT, the BCP changed from nanospheres to rods, stars, and networks in the solution.
In the solid state, P3EHT crystallization in confinement was observed in P3EHT-block-poly(methyl acrylate) (P3EHT-b-PMA) BCP (P18, Figure 5). (139,140) The cylindrically confined P3EHT demonstrated its alkyl chain stacking direction extended along the cylinder long axis and π-stacking lied in the cylinder cross section, where the BCP domain size was influenced by the crystallization temperature (Figure 11a). Moreover, clear microphase-separated nanostructures were observed in P3HT-b-P3EHT film (P19, Figure 5) after thermal annealing, with crystalline P3HT domains and less crystalline P3EHT domains (Figure 11b). (141) As the self-crystallization of P3EHT is greatly suppressed, it could cocrystallize with other dissimilar conjugated polymers, such as poly(2,5-dihexyloxy-p-phenylene) (PPP) in PPP-b-P3EHT BCPs (P20, Figure 5) at a suitable block ratio. (142) The ratio of PPP to P3EHT greatly influenced the competing impacts of self-crystallization and cocrystallization, yielding different microstructures in thin films.

Figure 11

Figure 11. (a) TEM images of cylindrical microdomains in P3EHT-b-PMA with different fractions of P3EHT by melt pressing at 150 °C, and the corresponding chain packing confined in cylinders. Reproduced with permission from ref (139). Copyright 2017 American Chemical Society. (b) AFM images of P3HT-b-P3EHT (83:17) thin films after thermal annealing and the corresponding schematic of chain packing. Reproduced with permission from ref (141). Copyright 2009 American Chemical Society.

Compared with P3HT and P3EHT, P3DDT with dodecyl side chains has a moderate rod–rod interaction, stronger than P3EHT but weaker than P3HT. (143−145) Therefore, P3DDT-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (P3DDT-b-PMMA) BCPs (P21, Figure 5) demonstrated obvious transformation from traditional coil–coil type to rod–coil type when increasing the content of P3DDT. (143) When the content of P3DDT was lower than 0.6, the BCPs displayed body-centered cubic spheres, hexagonally stacked cylinders, and lamellae in the solid state, which were similar to coil–coil BCPs. Increasing the fraction of P3DDT to 0.76, the P3DDT rod–rod interaction dominated, resulting in fibril structures. The competition between rod–rod and rod–coil interaction (G ≡ μ/χ) could be quantitatively determined in a series of P3AT-b-PMMA BCPs, where a larger G value meant a stronger rod–rod interaction. (144) The temperature-dependent Flory–Huggins interaction parameter χ between P3AT and PMMA was estimated by the random phase approximation method. By calculation, P3HT-b-PMMA, P3DDT-b-PMMA, and P3EHT-b-PMMA had the G value of 1.282, 0.975, and 0.337 at 30 °C, respectively. Thus, it quantitatively indicated that the rod–rod interaction was the strongest in P3HT but the weakest in P3EHT.

Effect of Side Chain Functionalization

The solubility, rod–rod interaction, and crystallization of conjugated polymers can be greatly influenced by side chain functionalization. As such, the introduction of functional pendants to the conjugated BCPs, such as bromine group, (146) ester group, (147) azide group, (148) carboxylate group, (149) hydroxyl group, (150) triethylene glycol, (151) etc., can tailor the microphase separation and crystallization effectively.
The phosphonate group has been introduced to P3HT-block-poly(3-(6-diethylphosphonatohexyl)thiophene) (P3HT-b-P3PHT) (P22, Figure 5) to reduce the crystallization ability and rod–rod interaction of P3PHT. (152) From anisole, the P3HT-b-P3PHT formed dominated microphase-separated lamellar structures in a large area (Figure 12a). With the increased content of P3HT, microphase-separated lamellar and fibrillar structure coexisted. Due to the substitution of hydroxyl group in P3HT-block-poly[3-(6-hydroxy)hexylthiophene] (P3HT-b-P3HHT) (P23, Figure 5), the hydrogen bonding between hydroxyl groups twisted the π–π stacking to form helical nanofibers in the pyridine solution (Figure 12b). (150)

Figure 12

Figure 12. (a) TEM images of P3HT-b-P3PHT (1:1 and 3:1) in anisole. Reproduced with permission from ref (152). Copyright 2016 Royal Society of Chemistry. (b) AFM image and the schematic of P3HT-b-P3HHT helical nanofibers produced from the pyridine solution. Reproduced with permission from ref (150). Copyright 2018 Royal Society of Chemistry. (c) AFM images of P3HT-b-P3THA thin films (78:22 and 60:40) and the schematic of chain packing. Reproduced with permission from ref (149). Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society.

As for P3HT-block-poly(phenyl isocyanide) (P3HT-b-PPI) BCPs (P24, Figure 5), different functional groups were added into the PPI block to enable the whole BCPs to have different functionalities in the solution. (153) The introduction of pyrene pendants rendered the BCP with both aggregation-induced emission and quenching properties. The addition of the chiral or PEG pendants to the BCPs made them have chiral or amphiphilic properties, which could form right- or left-handed helixes or self-assemble into worm-like or spherical structures in solution. Moreover, cocrystallization of poly(thiophene)-block-poly(selenophene) was found to strengthen the chiral expression in solution than the corresponding homopolymers. (154)
In a series of P3HT-block-poly(3-thiophene hexylacetate) (P3HT-b-P3THA) BCPs (P25, Figure 5), the carboxylate group of P3THA block greatly affected the crystallization properties of the BCPs. (149) With the increased content of P3THA, the P3HT-b-P3THA BCPs changed from crystalline P3HT/amorphous P3THA, microphase-separated crystalline P3HT/crystalline P3THA structures, to cocrystalline structures of P3HT and P3THA in thin films (Figure 12c). Microphase separation of conjugated BCPs could also be strengthened by introducing semifluorinated side chains into poly(carbazole-alt-dithienylbenzothiadiazole)-block-P3HT (SF-PCDTBT-b-P3HT) (P26, Figure 5). (155) By attaching hydrophilic tetraethylene glycol to the side chains of PFTBT, the P3HT-b-PFTBT BCP (P10, Figure 5) had an amphiphilic property, which facilitated the isolation of the BCP from homopolymer impurity and led to well-defined microphase-separated structures. (156)

5. Applications in Organic Electronics

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Conjugated BCPs combine both the microphase-separated characteristics of BCPs and electronic properties of conjugated polymers. After discussing their interplay between crystallization and microphase separation, their representative applications in organic electronics such as organic photovoltaics (OPVs), (157) organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), (158) phototransistor memory, (159) and chemical sensor (160) are introduced. Selected examples are discussed, and are not aimed to be comprehensive. More examples can be found in some excellent review articles. (18,20)
As for conjugated D–A BCP possessing a wide-band gap benzodithiophene-bithiophene carboxylate donor (PBDT2T) and a narrow-band gap N2200-based acceptor, both blocks displayed predominant face-on crystal orientation which was favored for vertical-type OPV. Therefore, this PBDT2T-b-N2200 BCP (P27, Figure 5) showed an improved surface and internal morphology and a more efficient photoinduced electron transfer compared with their PBDT2T/N2200 blends (Figure 13a). (161) As a result, it showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.43%, 2.4 times higher than that of their blends.

Figure 13

Figure 13. (a) Schematic of a photovoltaic device based on the PBDT2T-b-N2200 BCP film as the active layer. Reproduced with permission from ref (161). Copyright 2020 John Wiley and Sons. (b) The PCE based on the P3HT-b-PFTBT active layer as a function of thermal annealing time. Reproduced with permission from ref (162). Copyright 2015 American Chemical Society. (c) Optical microscopy images of P3HT and UV cross-linked P3HT-azide BCP immersed in chlorobenzene, and the P3HT/fullerene blended films containing 0% and 15% P3HT-azide BCP after thermal annealing. Reproduced with permission from ref (164). Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society. (d) The degree of cross-linking, crack onset strains, and degree of crystallinity of P3HHT and P3HT-b-P3HHT BCP as a function of heating time. Reproduced with permission from ref (165). Copyright 2016 American Chemical Society. (e) Schematic of the OFET device based on the P3HT-b-PBA as the active layer and their transfer curves with or without strain. Reproduced with permission from ref (167). Copyright 2017 American Chemical Society. (f) Schematic of the electret free phototransistor memory and working mechanism. Reproduced with permission from ref (159). Copyright 2022 John Wiley and Sons. (g) Schematic of the ammonia sensor based on OFETs of helical nanofibril P3HT-b-PPI. Reproduced with permission from ref (169). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society.

The microphase separation degree between donor and acceptor domains is proven to impact the OPV performance. P3HT-b-PFTBT showed the crystal orientation transition from the face-on to edge-on after thermal annealing and had a modest effect (15–20%) on the OPV performance (Figure 13b). (162) Instead, the addition of side chains to the PFTBT block resulted in weak phase separation between donor and acceptor domains, decreasing the PCE by an order of magnitude. As mentioned earlier, the incorporation of the random copolymer P[3HT-r-3OT] into P[3HT-r-3OT]-b-PFTBT enhanced the microphase separation compared to P3HT-b-PFTBT. (127) As a result, the devices fabricated from D–A BCP P[3HT-r-3OT]-b-PFTBT had 2.6% PCE, which was about 20% higher than those of devices based on P3HT-b-PFTBT without the random copolymer. However, if more content of the random copolymer was introduced into the BCP, the PCE would decrease as well, because of the insufficient crystallization of the donor block.
Conjugated BCPs can combine two donors to improve the light-harvesting ability. For example, PM6-b-TT BCPs (P28, Figure 5) had two donors containing well-known PM6 with a medium band gap and PBDT-TT with a wide band gap. (163) Therefore, they have a relatively broad complementary absorption spectrum. When PM6-b-TT BCPs were mixed with the Y6-BO acceptor, the binary blended film showed a preferred face-on orientation, more favorable bicontinuous interpenetrating network and more clearly nanofibril-like morphology than the corresponding PM6/PBDT-TT/Y6-BO ternary system, achieving a maximum PCE of 15.26%.
Conjugated BCPs can act as compatibilizers to stabilize the donor/acceptor interface. After adding the poly(thieno[3,4-b]-thiophene-co-benzodithiophene)-block-polynaphthalene diimide (PTB7-b-PNDI) into the blends of PTB7 and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), a bicontinuous microemulsion-like morphology was seen in the ternary blend. (98) This BCP compatibilizer could produce thermally stable, cocontinuous donor/acceptor morphology at a high additive content and long annealing time.
Photo or thermal cross-linkable groups can be added to the alkyl chains of conjugated BCPs to improve the device stability as well. Azide group was attached to alkyl chains of P3HT in P3HT-azide based BCPs (P29, Figure 5), which could cross-link after UV light exposure to produce an insoluble film by chlorobenzene washing (Figure 13c). (164) These BCPs could act as compatibilizers in P3HT/PCBM blends, improving the thermal stability of the OPVs. Similarly, hydroxyl groups in P3HT-b-P3HHT (P23, Figure 5) could cross-link after thermal annealing at 200 °C. (165) It greatly improved the ductility of the whole BCP film (Figure 13d), which was promising for stretchable electronic devices.
Compared with OPVs, the application of conjugated BCPs in OFETs has been less investigated. Recently, the cocrystallization in conjugated BCPs has been demonstrated to be effective to improve the device performance. The P3BT-b-P3HS BCP (P2, Figure 5) formed cocrystals between P3BT and P3HS blocks in the as-cast film. (22) Their charge mobilities were an order of magnitude higher than those of P3BT and P3HS homopolymers.
The change of RR can not only change the crystal orientation of P3HT-b-P3MEGT BCP (P5, Figure 5), but also improve the charge transport. As previously mentioned, the decreased RR of P3HT produced the end-on orientation with the backbone vertical to the substrate (Figure 7c). (120) As a result, the P3HT-b-P3MEGT thin film had a good vertical charge transport mobility of 4.08 × 10–2 cm2 V–1 s–1, which was 610 times higher than that of the P3HT homopolymer with the same RR in an edge-on orientation. Moreover, the combination of P3HT with different RR into BCPs, i.e., regioregular P3HT (RR ∼ 97%) as one block and regiorandom P3HT (RR ∼ 50%) as the other block, could improve the mechanical toughness of films significantly without sacrificing the electrical properties. (103,166)
In addition to change the RR, the stretchability of the OFETs could be improved by introducing a low glass transition temperature poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) block into the P3HT-b-PBA BCP (P30, Figure 5). (167) The tensile modulus decreased with the increased block ratio of PBA. After 1000 stretching/release cycles, the mobility remained over 10–2 cm2 V–1 s–1, proving good charge transporting stability and reproducibility (Figure 13e).
In some other applications, a group of conjugated BCPs, containing poly(isoindigo-bithiophene) (PII2T) and poly(naphthalenediimide-bithiophene) (PNDI2T) were applied in electret-free phototransistor memory (Figure 13f). (159) This BCP could reduce the phase separation between the corresponding blends. By tailoring the composition of the BCP, the phototransistor memory could achieve a wide memory window of 36 V and a high memory ratio of 7 × 10. (4)
At present, it is still challenging to prepare full circularly polarized luminescence polymeric materials with a tunable emission wavelength and switchable handedness. Taking advantage of the crystallization property of P3HT and the chirality of helical poly(phenyl isocyanide)s (PPI), the P3HT-b-PPI (P24, Figure 5) could self-assemble into single-handed helical nanofibers. (168,169) Such nanofibers could display white-light emission and circularly polarized luminescence. Such helical nanofibers could be used as possible chemical sensors, exhibiting a highly sensitive and selective response to 100 ppb ammonia (Figure 13g).

6. Conclusions

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In this Viewpoint, we discuss crystallization behaviors of conjugated polymers and highlight the interplay between microphase separation and crystallization of conjugated BCPs concentrated on P3AT-based BCPs. Compared with significant progress achieved in emerging conjugated polymers with numerous chemical structures, understanding and controlling the crystallization of these materials are lagging behind. We believe this Viewpoint would contribute to a deeper fundamental understanding of crystallization and microstructure control in semirigid conjugated polymers. The experiences, rules, and knowledge obtained from P3ATs and P3AT-based BCPs are expected to be extended to other conjugated polymers with excellent optoelectronic properties.
Despite huge advances being witnessed in conjugated polymers, several challenges and opportunities in this field are discussed as follows. First, investigations into the microphase-separated and crystalline behaviors of conjugated BCPs still fall behind that of coil–coil BCPs. A main reason is the synthetic challenge associated with these conjugated BCPs, particularly for conjugated D–A BCPs. From an experimental perspective, the well-established phase diagrams for coil–coil BCPs benefit from major advances in living polymerization techniques, which allow precise control over chain ends and sequential block growth. In contrast, achieving similar control in conjugated BCPs is considerably more difficult. At present, P3ATs are among the few conjugated polymers that can be polymerized in a living or quasi-living manner; thereby, a number of P3AT-based conjugated BCPs have been investigated and discussed in this Viewpoint. The development of better-defined materials is important to promote more systematic studies in this area. For example, a broader set of conjugated BCPs that include some types not containing P3ATs can be investigated. More accurate Flory–Huggins parameters and more detailed phase diagrams can be obtained based on these better-defined materials.
Second, the relatively complicated chemical structures, diverse weak noncovalent interactions, and chain stiffness endow different crystallization behaviors of conjugated polymers from flexible polymers. Compared with the long historical research and mature theories and models on flexible polymer crystallization, conjugated polymers are short of suitable physical models and theories to describe their crystalline behaviors. Physical modeling and theoretical efforts are important to help precisely predict the crystalline behaviors and microstructures of conjugated polymers. From an experimental perspective, we need to analyze the crystalline structures of conjugated polymers and conjugated BCPs in more detail. Conjugated polymer films exhibit various microstructures varying from crystalline to amorphous. In particular, the amorphous domains lack characterization and information, which further adds the difficulty to predict and control multilevel microstructures accurately. Due to the dynamically changeable chain conformation during the crystallization process, the in situ characterization of the dynamic evolution process is highly promising but not easy to achieve. Different dynamic behaviors result in various intermediate states. More reliable and feasible characterization methods are expected to be utilized to visualize the dynamic process directly. (170) At present, investigations into the crystallization kinetics of conjugated BCPs are rather limited. The in situ characterization can help to establish the Avrami equation of conjugated BCPs to better describe their crystallization kinetics.
Finally, the correlation between multilevel microstructures of conjugated polymer films and their diverse properties is still obscure. It is difficult to achieve target microstructures in different functional devices. There is a need to better control the crystal orientation (i.e., edge-on and face-on) in different types of conjugated polymers. In terms of conjugated BCPs, more systems with improved optoelectronic and other properties need to be designed. Looking to the future, building a structure-processing-property database by mutual efforts from computational and experimental scientists will definitely promote the establishment of the structure–property relationship of conjugated polymers.

Author Information

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  • Corresponding Authors
    • Author Contributions

      CRediT: Juan Peng conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, supervision, writing - original draft, writing - review & editing; Yanchun Han conceptualization, funding acquisition, writing - review & editing.

    • Notes
      The authors declare no competing financial interest.

    Acknowledgments

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    This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22573020, 22173023 and 52433009) and STCSM and Shanghai Pilot Program for Basic Research-Fudan University 21TQ1400100 (22TQ002). The authors acknowledge the support from Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility of China for using the BL14B1 and BL02U2 beamlines.

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    • Abstract

      Figure 1

      Figure 1. Schematic of the main content of this Viewpoint.

      Figure 2

      Figure 2. (a) Chain conformation for coil-like, semirigid, and rod-like polymers. Chain rigidity increases with an increased ratio of the chain persistence length (lp) to the contour length (Lc). Reproduced with permission from ref (28) and modified. Copyright 2022 American Chemical Society. (b) Depiction of hindered rotation model (ri: backbone displacement vectors, θi: deflection angles, ϕi: dihedral angles). Reproduced with permission from ref (25). Copyright 2014 American Chemical Society. (c) The correlation between the end-to-end distance squared normalized by the persistence length squared (⟨h2⟩/lp2) and the persistence length per chain (L/lp) in the freely rotating worm-like chain model. Reproduced with permission from ref (31). Copyright 2017 Royal Society of Chemistry.

      Figure 3

      Figure 3. (a) Diagram of free energy change with increased nucleus radius based on classical nucleation theory (CNT). Reproduced with permission from ref (60) and modified. Copyright 2019 American Chemical Society. (b) Schematic of the P3HT chain conformation from extended to folded with increased molecular weight. Reproduced with permission from ref (66) and modified. Copyright 2009 American Chemical Society. (c, d) Schematic of (c) a 1D crystal prism model and (d) the possible chain packing in a P3HT lamella. Reproduced with permission from ref (70) and modified. Copyright 2010 Elsevier. (e) Schematic of coexisting ordered crystalline regions and disordered amorphous regions in conjugated polymer thin films. Reproduced with permission from ref (12) and modified. Copyright 2013 Nature Publishing Group.

      Figure 4

      Figure 4. (a) Phase diagram of AB coil–coil BCPs in the melt state, showing the stability regions of different microphase-separated morphologies. Reproduced with permission from ref (86). Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society. (b) Schematic of representative morphologies formed by AB coil–coil BCPs due to microphase separation. (c) Phase diagrams of wormlike AB BCPs with different chain rigidities (L/a = 10, 4, 2, 1) and (d) schematic of morphologies formed in AB BCPs containing semiflexible chains. Reproduced with permission from ref (104). Copyright 2013 American Physical Society.

      Figure 5

      Figure 5. Representative chemical structures of conjugated BCPs in this Viewpoint.

      Figure 6

      Figure 6. (a) TEM images and the schematic of the annealed P3DDT-b-P3DDS thin films with the increased polymerization degree N. Reproduced with permission from ref (17). Copyright 2019 American Chemical Society. (b) 2D-GIWAXS images and (c) corresponding chain packing in drop-cast P3HT-b-PBTTT thin films with various molecular weights. Reproduced with permission from ref (112). Copyright 2024 American Chemical Society.

      Figure 7

      Figure 7. (a) Schematic and TEM images of P3HT-b-P2VP in the solution influenced by the RR of P3HT, demonstrating the morphology transformation from nanowires to micelles with the decreased RR. Reproduced with permission from ref (116). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. (b) TEM images of P3HT-b-P2VP with different contents of P3HT and RR values in the solid state. Reproduced with permission from ref (118). Copyright 2017 American Chemical Society. (c) Different crystalline orientations of P3HT-b-P3MEGT with high and low RR of P3HT in the solid state. Reproduced with permission from ref (120). Copyright 2022 American Chemical Society.

      Figure 8

      Figure 8. (a) TEM images of P3HT-b-PEG with the increased P3HT length when produced from an anisole solution. The schematic describes the chain packing influenced by the P3HT length or solvent. Reproduced with permission from ref (121). Copyright 2012 John Wiley and Sons. (b) TEM image of the P3BT-b-P3OT (50:50) in 1,2-dichlorobenzene and WAXD spectra of P3BT-b-P3OT (50:50 and 76:24). Reproduced with permission from ref (122) and modified. Copyright 2009 American Chemical Society. (c) Schematic of PPP-b-P3HT in various block ratios when produced from chlorobenzene and anisole, illustrating the preferential crystallization and microphase separation, respectively. Reproduced with permission from ref (123) and modified. Copyright 2016 Elsevier. (d) TEM images of PPP-b-P3HT (34:66 and 62:38) films annealed at 280 °C for 1 h, showing fibrillar morphology and microphase-separated nanoribbon morphology, respectively. Reproduced with permission from ref (13). Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society. (e) Three different epitaxy crystallization modes achieved in PPP-b-P3HT films during thermal annealing at different temperatures. Reproduced with permission from ref (124) and modified. Copyright 2015 American Chemical Society.

      Figure 9

      Figure 9. (a) AFM images of P3HT-b-Mal7 and P3HT-b-AcMal7 thin films after thermal annealing and their SAXS profiles in the as-cast state (black line) and after thermal annealing (red line). Reproduced with permission from ref (125). Copyright 2017 American Chemical Society. (b) TEM image of P3HT-b-AcMal7 thin film after annealing at 220 °C, with lamellar structure and the schematic of tilted P3HT chains with respect to the lamellar plane. Reproduced with permission from ref (126). Copyright 2020 American Chemical Society. (c) Schematic of the crystallization and microphase separation in P3HT-b-PFTBT films without (left) and with (right) inserting a certain content of the random copolymer, demonstrating dominated crystallization and microphase separation, respectively. Reproduced with permission from ref (127). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. (d) AFM images of P3HT-b-DPP films in the as-cast state and after thermal annealing at different temperatures. Reproduced with permission from ref (129). Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society. (e) Lorentz corrected SAXS images of P3HT-b-PPerAcr with different block ratios (left) and the corresponding TEM images (right), displaying lamellar and cylindrical morphology in bulk. Reproduced with permission from ref (130). Copyright 2013 American Chemical Society.

      Figure 10

      Figure 10. (a) Schematic of the solution aggregation behavior of P3AT-based triblock copolymers dependent on the block sequence. Reproduced with permission from ref (132). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. (b) 2D-GIWAXS images of P3BT-b-P3AT-b-P3HS triblock copolymer thin films after two-stage heating process, and the schematic of chain packing in cocrystals and microphase-separated structures represented by P3BT-b-P3OT-b-P3HS. Reproduced with permission from ref (134). Copyright 2022 Elsevier. (c) AFM images and the corresponding schematic of ABA-type, AB-type, and BAB-type (block A: P3HT, block B: POO) in the annealed thin films. Reproduced with permission from ref (135). Copyright 2019 Royal Society of Chemistry.

      Figure 11

      Figure 11. (a) TEM images of cylindrical microdomains in P3EHT-b-PMA with different fractions of P3EHT by melt pressing at 150 °C, and the corresponding chain packing confined in cylinders. Reproduced with permission from ref (139). Copyright 2017 American Chemical Society. (b) AFM images of P3HT-b-P3EHT (83:17) thin films after thermal annealing and the corresponding schematic of chain packing. Reproduced with permission from ref (141). Copyright 2009 American Chemical Society.

      Figure 12

      Figure 12. (a) TEM images of P3HT-b-P3PHT (1:1 and 3:1) in anisole. Reproduced with permission from ref (152). Copyright 2016 Royal Society of Chemistry. (b) AFM image and the schematic of P3HT-b-P3HHT helical nanofibers produced from the pyridine solution. Reproduced with permission from ref (150). Copyright 2018 Royal Society of Chemistry. (c) AFM images of P3HT-b-P3THA thin films (78:22 and 60:40) and the schematic of chain packing. Reproduced with permission from ref (149). Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society.

      Figure 13

      Figure 13. (a) Schematic of a photovoltaic device based on the PBDT2T-b-N2200 BCP film as the active layer. Reproduced with permission from ref (161). Copyright 2020 John Wiley and Sons. (b) The PCE based on the P3HT-b-PFTBT active layer as a function of thermal annealing time. Reproduced with permission from ref (162). Copyright 2015 American Chemical Society. (c) Optical microscopy images of P3HT and UV cross-linked P3HT-azide BCP immersed in chlorobenzene, and the P3HT/fullerene blended films containing 0% and 15% P3HT-azide BCP after thermal annealing. Reproduced with permission from ref (164). Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society. (d) The degree of cross-linking, crack onset strains, and degree of crystallinity of P3HHT and P3HT-b-P3HHT BCP as a function of heating time. Reproduced with permission from ref (165). Copyright 2016 American Chemical Society. (e) Schematic of the OFET device based on the P3HT-b-PBA as the active layer and their transfer curves with or without strain. Reproduced with permission from ref (167). Copyright 2017 American Chemical Society. (f) Schematic of the electret free phototransistor memory and working mechanism. Reproduced with permission from ref (159). Copyright 2022 John Wiley and Sons. (g) Schematic of the ammonia sensor based on OFETs of helical nanofibril P3HT-b-PPI. Reproduced with permission from ref (169). Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society.

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