Effects of nanostructure on optoelectronic properties of β phase polyoctylfluorene thin film

β phase polyoctylfluorene thin films were obtained by exposure to toluene vapor for various annealing times or dipping into a THF/methanol mixture. The photoluminescence and electroluminescence of PFO thin films decrease with increasing annealing time. Grazing incident X-ray diffraction of the thin films indicates that more and larger β phase crystallites will be generated in thin film exposed for longer time, which will lead to more defects that reduce photoluminescence and electroluminescence. By analyzing the mechanism of formation of β phase, we assume that the defects mainly come from the formation of out-of-plane crystalline structure. The assumption is confirmed by higher photoluminescence of β phase polyoctylfluorene thin film achieved by dipping into a THF/methanol mixture that has less out-of-plane crystalline structure.