Molecular reorientation and structural changes in cosolvent-treated highly conductive PEDOT:PSS electrodes for flexible indium tin oxide-free organic electronics

Claudia M. Palumbiny, Christoph Heller, Christoph J. Schaffer, Volker Körstgens, Gonzalo Santoro, Stephan V. Roth, Peter Müller-Buschbaum

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

127 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cosolvent addition of glycerol (G) and the use of the cosolvent ethylene glycol (EG) increase the conductivity of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films to values on the order of indium tin oxide conductivity. The underlying morphological changes are probed via scanning electron microscopy as well as advanced scattering techniques microfocused grazing incidence small- and wide-angle Xray scattering. The enhancement in conductivity is ascribed to fundamental morphological changes and molecular reorientation within crystalline domains. Thereby, the conductivity enhancement is directly correlated to domain ruptures toward smaller and more densely packed PEDOT domains together with an enhanced crystallinity, the removal of PSS molecules, and moreover a reorientation of the conjugated PEDOT molecules. The latter is reported and quantified here for PEDOT:PSS films for the first time.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)13598-13606
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry C
Volume118
Issue number25
DOIs
StatePublished - 26 Jun 2014

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Molecular reorientation and structural changes in cosolvent-treated highly conductive PEDOT:PSS electrodes for flexible indium tin oxide-free organic electronics'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this