Birefringent Stable Glass with Predominantly Isotropic Molecular Orientation

Composition Dictates Molecular Orientation at the Heterointerfaces of Vapor-Deposited Glasses

Physical vapor deposition (PVD) can prepare organic glasses with a preferred molecular orientation. The relationships between deposition conditions and orientation have been extensively investigated in the film bulk. The role of interfaces on the structure is less well understood and remains a key knowledge gap, as the interfacial region can govern glass stability and optoelectronic properties. Robust experimental characterization has remained elusive due to complexities in interrogating molecular organization in amorphous, organic materials. Polarized soft X-rays are sensitive to both the composition and the orientation of transition dipole moments in the film, making them uniquely suited to probe molecular orientation in amorphous soft matter. Here, we utilize polarized resonant soft X-ray reflectivity (P-RSoXR) to simultaneously depth profile the composition and molecular orientation of a bilayer prepared through the physical vapor deposition of 1,4-di-[4-(N,N-diphenyl)amino]styryl-benzene (DSA-Ph) on a film of aluminum-tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) (Alq3). The bulk orientation of the DSA-Ph layer is controlled by varying deposition conditions. Utilizing P-RSoXR to depth profile the films enables determination of both the bulk orientation of DSA-Ph and the orientation near the Alq3 interface. At the Alq3 surface, DSA-Ph always lies with its long axis parallel to the interface, before transitioning into the bulk orientation. This is likely due to the lower mobility and higher glass transition of Alq3, as the first several monolayers of DSA-Ph deposited on Alq3 appear to behave as a blend. We further show how orientation at the interface correlates with the bulk behavior of a codeposited glass of similar blend composition, demonstrating a straightforward approach to predicting molecular orientation at heterointerfaces. This work provides key insights into how molecules orient during vapor deposition and offers methods to predict this property, a critical step toward controlling interfacial behavior in soft matter.

Supramolecular glasses with color-tunable circularly polarized afterglow through evaporation-induced self-assembly of chiral metal-organic complexes

The fabrication of chiral molecules into macroscopic systems has many valuable applications, especially in the fields of optical displays, data encryption, information storage, and so on. Here, we design and prepare a serious of supramolecular glasses (SGs) based on Zn-L-Histidine complexes, via an evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) strategy. Metal-ligand interactions between the zinc(II) ion and chiral L-Histidine endow the SGs with interesting circularly polarized afterglow (CPA). Multicolored CPA emissions from blue to red with dissymmetry factor as high as 9.5 × 10^-3 and excited-state lifetime up to 356.7 ms are achieved under ambient conditions. Therefore, this work not only communicates the bulk SGs with wide-tunable afterglow and large circular polarization, but also provides an EISA method for the macroscopic self-assembly of chiral metal-organic hybrids toward photonic applications.

The role of intramolecular relaxations on the structure and stability of vapor-deposited glasses

Stable glasses (SGs) are formed through surface-mediated equilibration (SME) during physical vapor deposition (PVD). Unlike intermolecular interactions, the role of intramolecular degrees of freedom in this process remains unexplored. Here, using experiments and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that varying dihedral rotation barriers of even a single bond, in otherwise isomeric molecules, can strongly influence the structure and stability of PVD glasses. These effects arise from variations in the degree of surface mobility, mobility gradients, and mobility anisotropy, at a given deposition temperature ( T dep). At high T dep, flexible molecules have access to more configurations, which enhances the rate of SME, forming isotropic SGs. At low T dep, stability is achieved by out of equilibrium aging of the surface layer. Here, the poor packing of rigid molecules enhances the rate of surface-mediated aging, producing stable glasses with layered structures in a broad range of T dep. In contrast, the dynamics of flexible molecules couple more efficiently to the glass layers underneath, resulting in reduced mobility and weaker mobility gradients, producing unstable glasses. Independent of stability, the flattened shape of flexible molecules can also promote in-plane orientational order at low T dep. These results indicate that small changes in intramolecular relaxation barriers can be used as an approach to independently tune the structure and mobility profiles of the surface layer and, thus, the stability and structure of PVD glasses.

Role of Molecular Layering in the Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Stable Glasses

The density, degree of molecular orientation, and molecular layering of vapor-deposited stable glasses (SGs) vary with substrate temperature (T_dep) below the glass-transition temperature (T_g). Density and orientation have been suggested to be factors influencing the mechanical properties of SGs. We perform nanoindentation on two molecules which differ by only a single substituent, allowing one molecule to adopt an in-plane orientation at low T_dep. The reduced elastic modulus and hardness of both molecules show similar T_dep dependences, with enhancements of 15-20% in reduced modulus and 30-45% in hardness at T_dep ≈ 0.8T_g, where the density of vapor-deposited films is enhanced by ∼1.4% compared to that of the liquid-quenched glass. At T_dep < 0.8T_g, one of the molecules produces highly unstable glasses with in-plane orientation. However, both systems show enhanced mechanics. Both the modulus and hardness correlate with the degree of layering, which is similar in both systems despite their variable stability. We suggest that nanoindentation performed normal to the film's surface is influenced by the tighter packing of the molecules in this direction.

Design of a homologous series of molecular glassformers

We design and synthesize a set of homologous organic molecules by taking advantage of facile and tailorable Suzuki cross coupling reactions to produce triarylbenzene derivatives. By adjusting the number and the arrangement of conjugated rings, the identity of heteroatoms, lengths of fluorinated alkyl chains, and other interaction parameters, we create a library of glassformers with a wide range of properties. Measurements of the glass transition temperature (T_g) show a power-law relationship between T_g and molecular weight (M_W), with of the molecules, with an exponent of 0.3 ± 0.1, for T_g values spanning a range of 300-450 K. The trends in indices of refraction and expansion coefficients indicate a general increase in the glass density with M_W, consistent with the trends observed in T_g variations. A notable exception to these trends was observed with the addition of alkyl and fluorinated alkyl groups, which significantly reduced T_g and increased the dynamical fragility (which is otherwise insensitive to M_W). This is an indication of reduced density and increased packing frustrations in these systems, which is also corroborated by the observations of the decreasing index of refraction with increasing length of these groups. These data were used to launch a new database for glassforming materials, glass.apps.sas.upenn.edu.

Microscopic Structural Evolution during Ultrastable Metallic Glass Formation

By decreasing the rate of physical vapor deposition, ZrCuAl metallic glasses with improved stability and mechanical performances can be formed, while the microscopic structural mechanisms remain unclear. Here, with scanning transmission electron microscopy and high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction, we found that the metallic glass deposited at a higher rate exhibits a heterogeneous structure with compositional fluctuations at a distance of a few nanometers, which gradually disappear on decreasing the deposition rate; eventually, a homogeneous structure is developed approaching ultrastability. This microscopic structural evolution suggests the existence of the following two dynamical processes during ultrastable metallic glass formation: a faster diffusion process driven by the kinetic energy of the depositing atoms, which results in nanoscale compositional fluctuations, and a slower collective relaxation process that eliminates the compositional and structural heterogeneity, equilibrates the deposited atoms, and strengthens the local atomic connectivity.

Glasses denser than the supercooled liquid

When aged below the glass transition temperature, [Formula: see text], the density of a glass cannot exceed that of the metastable supercooled liquid (SCL) state, unless crystals are nucleated. The only exception is when another polyamorphic SCL state exists, with a density higher than that of the ordinary SCL. Experimentally, such polyamorphic states and their corresponding liquid-liquid phase transitions have only been observed in network-forming systems or those with polymorphic crystalline states. In otherwise simple liquids, such phase transitions have not been observed, either in aged or vapor-deposited stable glasses, even near the Kauzmann temperature. Here, we report that the density of thin vapor-deposited films of N,N'-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N'-diphenylbenzidine (TPD) can exceed their corresponding SCL density by as much as 3.5% and can even exceed the crystal density under certain deposition conditions. We identify a previously unidentified high-density supercooled liquid (HD-SCL) phase with a liquid-liquid phase transition temperature ([Formula: see text]) ∼35 K below the nominal glass transition temperature of the ordinary SCL. The HD-SCL state is observed in glasses deposited in the thickness range of 25 to 55 nm, where thin films of the ordinary SCL have exceptionally enhanced surface mobility with large mobility gradients. The enhanced mobility enables vapor-deposited thin films to overcome kinetic barriers for relaxation and access the HD-SCL state. The HD-SCL state is only thermodynamically favored in thin films and transforms rapidly to the ordinary SCL when the vapor deposition is continued to form films with thicknesses more than 60 nm.

Deep Blue Fluorescent Material with an Extremely High Ratio of Horizontal Orientation to Enhance Light Outcoupling Efficiency (44%) and External Quantum Efficiency in Doped and Non-Doped Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

A novel bis-4Ph-substituted 9,10-dipehnylanthracene deep blue [1931 CIE (0.15, 0.08)] fluorescent compound, AnB4Ph, has been synthesized and characterized for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) applications. Our experimental study of AnB4Ph excludes the possibility of triplet-triplet annihilation, hybridized local and charge transfer, or thermally activated delayed fluorescent characteristics of the material. Since the solid-state photoluminescence quantum yield of AnB4Ph was determined to be 48%, assuming a 100% for the charge recombination efficiency, the light outcoupling efficiency (η_out) of an AnB4Ph non-doped OLED achieving an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 5.3% is at least 44%, which is more than twofold higher than 20% for conventional OLEDs. Both grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) and angle-dependent photoluminescence (ADPL) measurements reveal AnB4Ph having a high value of order parameter (S_GIWAXS) of 0.61 for a ππ stacking along the normal direction and an orientation order parameter (S_ADPL) for a horizontal emitting dipole moment of -0.50 or Θ (horizontal-dipole ratios) of 100%, respectively. Otherwise, a refractive index (n) measurement provides a n = 1.80 for AnB4Ph thin films. Based on η_out = 1.2 × n^-2, the calculated η_out is 37%, which is also in accordance with the results of GIWAXS and ADPL. We have also fabricated the classical fluorescent DPAVBi-doped AnB4Ph OLEDs, which display a true blue [1931 CIE (0.15 and 0.16)] electroluminescence with a high efficiency (EQE = 6.9%), surpassing the conventional ∼5% EQE. Based on an η_out of 42% for DPAVBi-doped AnB4Ph OLEDs, our studies suggest that the extremely horizontally aligned AnB4Ph host material exerts the same horizontal alignment on the DPAVBi dopant molecules.

Using Deposition Rate and Substrate Temperature to Manipulate Liquid Crystal-Like Order in a Vapor-Deposited Hexagonal Columnar Glass

We investigate vapor-deposited glasses of a phenanthroperylene ester, known to form an equilibrium hexagonal columnar phase, and show that liquid crystal-like order can be manipulated by the choice of deposition rate and substrate temperature during deposition. We find that rate-temperature superposition (RTS)-the equivalence of lowering the deposition rate and increasing the substrate temperature-can be used to predict and control the molecular orientation in vapor-deposited glasses over a wide range of substrate temperatures (0.75-1.0 T_g). This work extends RTS to a new structural motif, hexagonal columnar liquid crystal order, which is being explored for organic electronic applications. By several metrics, including the apparent average face-to-face nearest-neighbor distance, physical vapor deposition (PVD) glasses of the phenanthroperylene ester are as ordered as the glass prepared by cooling the equilibrium liquid crystal. By other measures, the PVD glasses are less ordered than the cooled liquid crystal. We explain the difference in the maximum attainable order with the existence of a gradient in molecular mobility at the free surface of a liquid crystal and its impact upon different mechanisms of structural rearrangement. This free surface equilibration mechanism explains the success of the RTS principle and provides guidance regarding the types of order most readily enhanced by vapor deposition. This work extends the applicability of RTS to include molecular systems with a diverse range of higher-order liquid-crystalline morphologies that could be useful for new organic electronic applications.

Effect of Nanopore Geometry in the Conformation and Vibrational Dynamics of a Highly Confined Molecular Glass

The effect of nanoporous confinement on the glass transition temperature (T_g) strongly depends on the type of porous media. Here, we study the molecular origins of this effect in a molecular glass, N,N'-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N'-diphenylbenzidine (TPD), highly confined in concave and convex geometries. When confined in controlled pore glass (CPG) with convex pores, TPD's vibrational spectra remained unchanged and two T_g's were observed, consistent with previous studies. In contrast, when confined in silica nanoparticle packings with concave pores, the vibrational peaks were shifted due to more planar conformations and T_g increased, as the pore size was decreased. The strong T_g increases in concave pores indicate significantly slower relaxation dynamics compared to CPG. Given TPD's weak interaction with silica, these effects are entropic in nature and are due to conformational changes at molecular level. The results highlight the role of intramolecular degrees of freedom in the glass transition, which have not been extensively explored.

Anisotropy and anharmonicity in polystyrene stable glass

We have used ellipsometry to characterize the anisotropy in stable polymer glasses prepared by physical vapor deposition. These measurements reveal birefringence values (as measured by the magnitude of in-plane vs out-of-plane refractive index) less than 0.002 in vapor-deposited polystyrenes with N from 6 to 12 and with fictive temperatures between 10 K and 35 K below the T_g values. We have measured the thermal expansivity of these stable glasses and compared to ordinary rejuvenated glass. The thermal expansivity of the stable glasses is less than that of ordinary glass with a difference that increases as the fictive temperature T_f decreases.

Polyamorphism of vapor-deposited amorphous selenium in response to light

Enhanced surface mobility is critical in producing stable glasses during physical vapor deposition. In amorphous selenium (a-Se) both the structure and dynamics of the surface can be altered when exposed to above-bandgap light. Here we investigate the effect of light on the properties of vapor-deposited a-Se glasses at a range of substrate temperatures and deposition rates. We demonstrate that deposition both under white light illumination and in the dark results in thermally and kinetically stable glasses. Compared to glasses deposited in the dark, stable a-Se glasses formed under white light have reduced thermal stability, as measured by lower density change, but show significantly improved kinetic stability, measured as higher onset temperature for transformation. While light induces enhanced mobility that penetrates deep into the surface, resulting in lower density during vapor deposition, it also acts to form more networked structures at the surface, which results in a state that is kinetically more stable with larger optical birefringence. We demonstrate that the structure formed during deposition with light is a state that is not accessible through liquid quenching, aging, or vapor deposition in the dark, indicating the formation of a unique amorphous solid state.

Kinetic Monitoring of Block Copolymer Self-Assembly Using In Situ Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

Understanding the kinetic pathways of self-assembly in block copolymers (BCPs) has been a long-standing challenge, mostly due to limitations of in situ monitoring techniques. Here, we demonstrate an approach that uses optical birefringence, determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), as a measure of domain formation in cylinder- and lamellae-forming BCP films. The rapid experimental acquisition time in SE (ca. 1 sec) enables monitoring of the assembly/disassembly kinetics of BCP films during solvent-vapor annealing (SVA). We demonstrate that upon SVA, BCP films form ordered domains that are stable in the swollen state, but disorder upon rapid drying. Surprisingly, the disassembly during drying strongly depends on the duration of solvent exposure in the swollen state, explaining previous observations of loss of order in SVA processes. SE thus allows for decoupling of BCP self-assembly and disordering that occurs during solvent annealing and solvent evaporation, which is difficult to probe using other, slower techniques.

Vapor deposition of a nonmesogen prepares highly structured organic glasses

We show that glasses with aligned smectic liquid crystal-like order can be produced by physical vapor deposition of a molecule without any equilibrium liquid crystal phases. Smectic-like order in vapor-deposited films was characterized by wide-angle X-ray scattering. A surface equilibration mechanism predicts the highly smectic-like vapor-deposited structure to be a result of significant vertical anchoring at the surface of the equilibrium liquid, and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy orientation analysis confirms this prediction. Understanding of the mechanism enables informed engineering of different levels of smectic order in vapor-deposited glasses to suit various applications. The preparation of a glass with orientational and translational order from a nonliquid crystal opens up an exciting paradigm for accessing extreme anisotropy in glassy solids.

Vapor-Deposited Ethylbenzene Glasses Approach "Ideal Glass" Density

Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to characterize vapor-deposited glasses of ethylbenzene (T_g = 115.7 K). For this system, previous calorimetric experiments have established that a transition to the ideal glass state is expected to occur near 101 K (the Kauzmann temperature, T_K) if the low-temperature supercooled liquid has the properties expected based upon extrapolation from above T_g. Ethylbenzene glasses were vapor-deposited at substrate temperatures between 100 (∼0.86 T_g) and 116 K (∼T_g), using deposition rates of 0.02-2.1 nm/s. Down to 103 K, glasses prepared in the limit of low deposition rate have densities consistent with the extrapolated supercooled liquid. The highest density glass is within 0.15% of the density expected for the ideal glass. These results support the hypothesis that the extrapolated properties of supercooled ethylbenzene are correct to within just a few Kelvin of T_K, consistent with the existence of a phase transition to an ideal glass state at T_K.

Exploring the Importance of Surface Diffusion in Stability of Vapor-Deposited Organic Glasses

Stable glasses are formed during physical vapor deposition (PVD), through the surface-mediated equilibration process. Understanding surface relaxation dynamics is important in understanding the details of this process. Direct measurements of the surface relaxation times in molecular glass systems are challenging. As such, surface diffusion measurements have been used in the past as a proxy for the surface relaxation process. In this study, we show that the absence of enhanced surface diffusion is not a reliable predictor of reduced ability to produce stable glasses. To demonstrate, we have prepared stable glasses (SGs) from two structurally similar organic molecules, 1,3-bis(1-naphthyl)-5-(2-naphthyl)benzene (TNB) and 9-(3,5-di(naphthalen-1-yl)phenyl)anthracene (α,α-A), with similar density increase and improved kinetic stability as compared to their liquid-quenched (LQ) counterparts. The surface diffusion values of these glasses were measured both in the LQ and SG states below their glass transition temperatures ( T_gs) using gold nanorod probes. While TNB shows enhanced surface diffusion in both SG and LQ states, no significant surface T_g diffusion is observed on the surface of α,α-A within our experimental time scales. However, isothermal dewetting experiments on ultrathin films of both molecules below T_g indicate the existence of enhanced dynamics in ultrathin films for both molecules, indirectly showing the existence of an enhanced mobile surface layer. Both films produce stable glasses, which is another indication for the existence of the mobile surface layer. Our results suggest that lateral surface diffusion may not be a good proxy for enhanced surface relaxation dynamics required to produce stable glasses, and thus, other types of measurements to directly probe the surface relaxation times may be necessary.

Origin of Anisotropic Molecular Packing in Vapor-Deposited Alq3 Glasses

Anisotropic molecular packing is a key feature that makes glasses prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD) unique materials, warranting a mechanistic understanding of how a PVD glass attains its structure. To this end, we use X-ray scattering and ellipsometry to characterize the structure of PVD glasses of tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3), a molecule used in organic electronics, and compare our results to simulations of its supercooled liquid. X-ray scattering reveals a tendency for molecular layering in Alq3 glasses that depends upon the substrate temperature during deposition and the deposition rate. Simulations reveal that the Alq3 supercooled liquid, like liquid metals, exhibits surface layering. We propose that the layering in Alq3 glasses observed here as well as the previously reported bulk dipole orientation are inherited from the surface structure of the supercooled liquid. This work significantly advances our understanding of the mechanism governing the formation of anisotropic structure in PVD glasses.

Tenfold increase in the photostability of an azobenzene guest in vapor-deposited glass mixtures

Improvements to the photostability of organic glasses for use in electronic applications have generally relied on the modification of the chemical structure. We show here that the photostability of a guest molecule can also be significantly improved-without chemical modification-by using physical vapor deposition to pack molecules more densely. Photoisomerization of the substituted azobenzene, 4,4'-diphenyl azobenzene, was studied in a vapor-deposited glass matrix of celecoxib. We directly measure photoisomerization of trans- to cis-states via Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy and show that the rate of photoisomerization depends upon the substrate temperature used during co-deposition of the glass. Photostability correlates reasonably with the density of the glass, where the optimum glass is about tenfold more photostable than the liquid-cooled glass. Molecular simulations, which mimic photoisomerization, also demonstrate that photoreaction of a guest molecule can be suppressed in vapor-deposited glasses. From the simulations, we estimate that the region that is disrupted by a single photoisomerization event encompasses approximately 5 molecules.

Distinguishing different classes of secondary relaxations from vapour deposited ultrastable glasses

Secondary relaxations persistent in the glassy state after structural arrest are especially relevant for the properties of the glass. A major thrust in research in dynamics of glass-forming liquids is to identify what secondary relaxations exhibit a connection to the structural relaxation and are hence more relevant. Via the Coupling Model, secondary relaxations having such connection have been identified by properties similar to the primitive relaxation of the Coupling Model and are called the Johari-Goldstein (JG) β-relaxations. They involve the motion of the entire molecule and act as the precursor of the structural α-relaxation. The change in dynamics of the secondary relaxation by aging an ordinary glass is one way to understand the connection between the two relaxations, but the results are often equivocal. Ultrastable glasses, formed by physical vapour deposition, exhibit density and enthalpy levels comparable to ordinary glasses aged for thousands of years, as well as some particular molecular arrangement. Thus, ultrastable glasses enable the monitoring of the evolution of secondary processes in case aging does not provide any definitive information. Here, we study the secondary relaxation of several ultrastable glasses to identify different types of secondary relaxations from their different relationship with the structural relaxation. We show the existence of two clearly differentiated groups of relaxations: those becoming slower in the ultrastable state and those becoming faster, with respect to the ordinary unaged glass. We propose ultrastability as a way to distinguish between secondary processes arising from the particular microstructure of the system and those connected in properties to and acting as the precursor of the structural relaxation in the sense of the Coupling Model.

Ultrastable metallic glasses formed on cold substrates

Vitrification from physical vapor deposition is known to be an efficient way for tuning the kinetic and thermodynamic stability of glasses and significantly improve their properties. There is a general consensus that preparing stable glasses requires the use of high substrate temperatures close to the glass transition one, T_g. Here, we challenge this empirical rule by showing the formation of Zr-based ultrastable metallic glasses (MGs) at room temperature, i.e., with a substrate temperature of only 0.43T_g. By carefully controlling the deposition rate, we can improve the stability of the obtained glasses to higher values. In contrast to conventional quenched glasses, the ultrastable MGs exhibit a large increase of T_g of ∼60 K, stronger resistance against crystallization, and more homogeneous structure with less order at longer distances. Our study circumvents the limitation of substrate temperature for developing ultrastable glasses, and provides deeper insight into glasses stability and their surface dynamics.

Producing ultrastable metallic glasses has always been associated with substrates heated close to the glass transition temperature. Here, the authors show that reducing the deposition rate of the metallic glass on a cold substrate produces ultrastable metallic glasses with remarkably improved stability.