Viscoelastic Characterization of Poly(3-hexylthiophene): Determination of Young’s Modulus
Branston E. Mefferd, Visakhan Vijayan Nambiar, Hongbing Lu, Mihaela C. Stefan
Abstract
Nanoindentation is an optimal technique for the measurement of thin film mechanical properties. Polymers present a unique problem in that their response to loading is time-dependent. Due to this, many of the most common nanoindentation methods are not suitable for probing polymer nanoscale properties. Despite this issue being well-known for decades, poly(3-hexylthiophene) has been exclusively analyzed by time-independent mechanical properties testing methods. Herein, we present a nanoindentation technique that analyzes the materials’ time-dependent response under both constant rate loading and step loading. By determining viscoelastic functions, we are able to extract the Young’s relaxation modulus of poly(3-hexylthiophene). The average Young’s modulus acquired from viscoelastic nanoindentation is determined to be 260 ± 27 MPa. These results are in excellent agreement with specialized mechanical tests for thin films and show promise for the analysis of other organic semiconducting materials.