Solvent Role in the Self-Assembly of Poly(3-alkylthiophene): A Harmonic Light Scattering Study

Poly(3-alkylthiophene)s are known to self-assemble into well-ordered supramolecular assemblies. The organization influences the optical and electronic properties of these polymers. One way to induce supramolecular self-assembly is by lowering the solvent quality of solubilized poly(3-alkylthiophene) upon the addition of a non-solvent. Recently, the exact mechanism of the supramolecular self-assembly process has been explored for a chloroform/methanol (solvent/non-solvent) system. However, it is not clear how the solvent influences the supramolecular self-assembly mechanism. In this study, poly(3-alkylthiophene) is dissolved in two different solvents and the supramolecular self-assembly is fully explored by combining harmonic light scattering with electronic spectroscopy. Our results indicate that the actual supramolecular self-assembly is very different in both cases and that the choice of solvent has not only a significant influence on the assembly process but also on the structure of the final supramolecular assembly.

Automated summary

The choice of solvent significantly influences both the assembly process and the structure of the final supramolecular assembly when investigating the self-assembly of poly(3-alkylthiophene) in different solvents.