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PEDOT and PEDOT:PSS Synthesis | Ossila

PEDOT synthesis involves the oxidative chemical or electrochemical polymerization of EDOT monomer. The choice of counterions and polymerization method significantly affects the conductivity, work function, and stability of the resulting PEDOT polymer. For example, PSS is commonly used as a counterion to form PEDOT:PSS.

Synthesis of PEDOT PEDOT Synthesis

PEDOT is synthesised from 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) monomer. The chemical cross-coupling polymerisation of EDOT happens primarily at 2,5-postions of the thiophene ring adjacent to the sulfur atom. The 3- and 4-positions of the thiophene ring are both occupied by oxygen atoms as part of the ethylenedioxy group. They block unwanted polymerisation reactions that could lead to cross-linking between PEDOT polymer chains. The oxygens are electron-donating which increases the electron density of the thiophene ring. This facilitates the synthesis of PEDOT via oxidative or electrochemical polymerizations.

PEDOT can be prepared mainly through the following three polymerization reactions:

As polymerisation of EDOT using transition metal-mediated coupling produces insoluble and therefore non processable PEDOT this method will not be discussed on this page. A brief comparison of oxidative chemical and electrochemical polymerization of PEDOT can be found in the table below:

Polymerization Oxidative Chemical Electrochemical Components

Substrate

Oxidant/Catalyst

Solvent

Optional: Surfactant, Inhibitor, Cosolvent

Substrate (working electrode)

Electrolyte

Solvent

PEDOT Form

Coated on substrate

Grown on substrate How to change PEDOT properties

Change the components used including counterion

Changing applied potential and direction

Change counterion

Oxidative chemical polymerization

Oxidative chemical polymerization of EDOT monomers is the most popular method to prepare solution processable PEDOT on a large scale. It involves multiple steps:

The most common and effective oxidants for the synthesis of PEDOT have been iron (III) complexes such as iron(III) chloride and iron(III) tosylate. Counter ions (Cl-, Tos-, sulphonate) stabilize the oxidized cationic PEDOT and contribute their own properties to the conductive polymer.

Other oxidant metal ions include:

The counter ion tosylate leads to a higher degree of polymerization and conjugation compared to chlorine. This is the result of a slower rate of oxidation and smoother film microstructure. A PEDOT-Tos film therefore has greater conductivity than PEDOT-Cl.

In a solution of iron (III) tosylate and EDOT in butanol, iron (III) serves as the oxidising agent and tosylate as the doping counter ions. The oxidising and doping process introduces dopant molecules into the polymer matrix, altering its electronic properties. Iron (III) tosylate acts as a charge carrier within the PEDOT matrix, improving its conductivity. Doping concentration can also influence the morphology, stability, and mechanical properties of the polymer.

Deposition using spin coater

There are two techniques used in PEDOT device fabrication based on oxidative chemical polymerisation:

Solution-cast Polymerization Vapor Phase Polymerization

By performing in-situ polymerization of PEDOT with different oxidants, customized conductive polymer materials can be created with controlled properties tailored to specific applications.

Other components can be incorporated into the polymerisation process to control properties such as:

Electrochemical Polymerization

Electrochemical polymerization of EDOT is a process used to obtain conducting polymer PEDOT thin film on a desired substrate. This is normally the working electrode which undergoes electrochemical oxidation. A three-electrode (working, reference, and counter electrode) electrochemical cell is filled with an electrolyte solution that contains EDOT.

Electrochemical polymerisation of PEDOT

A potential between the working and counter electrodes causes oxidation of EDOT monomers at the surface of the working electrode. This leads to the formation of radical cations. These radical cations subsequently polymerize to form PEDOT polymer chains. A thin film of PEDOT subsequently develops on the surface of the working electrode substrate. The anions of electrolyte are doped into PEDOT as counterions to stabilize the charge in PEDOT.

Common Electrolytes:

Both oxidative chemical and electrochemical polymerization of PEDOT require a substrate support. The transparent and conductive nature of PEDOT makes it highly suitable for a range of applications including in photovoltaics, OLEDs, sensors, and supercapacitors. It can be difficult to process PEDOT due to it’s hydrophobic nature. This problem has been resolved by incorporating a different hydrophilic polymer (polystyrene sulfonate – PSS).

PEDOT:PSS Synthesis

PEDOT:PSS is synthesised by polymerizing EDOT in the presence of polystyrene sulfonate (PSS). PEDOT:PSS can be rigid or flexible with tunable conductivity. It can also be coated on a range of substrates. Crucially, the hydrophilicity of PSS counterion means that PEDOT:PSS is highly stable in aqueous solutions.

PEDOT:PSS

Oxidative chemical polymerization of EDOT in water:

A nano-sized core-shell structure is formed between PEDOT and PSS with PEDOT predominantly as the core and PEDOT as the shell. The two polymers are bound by Columbus force. The negatively charged deprotonated sulfonic acid ion have a stabilizing effect on the positively charged oxidized PEDOT cations.

PEDOT:PSS offers good chemical, thermal and UV stability, great optical transparency, great range of conductivity up to thousands of S cm−1. The conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS is tuned by varying the ratio of PEDOT:PSS. The greater the amount of PEDOT the greater the conductivity. This is as a result of larger areas of crystallised PEDOT which increases the carrier mobility including improved intra- and inter-chain transport.

Conductivity can also be tuned with secondary dopants after polymerization. Secondary dopants increase conductivity by changes in electronic spectra and degree of PEDOT crystallinity. Examples of secondary dopants include:

As well as dopants, other processing methods can be used to increase conductivity. Treatment with strong acids, oxygen plasma and other solvents can lead to increased crystallinity of PEDOT which increases conductivity.

PEDOT Polymer Blends

Learn More How to Spin Coat PEDOT:PSS

For the deposition of thin films of PEDOT:PSS on a freshly prepared surface, we recommend using a vacuum-free spin coater and following this five-step process:

Read more... PEDOT:PSS Conductivity

PEDOT:PSS has conductivities in the range of 10-4 - 103 S cm-1. PEDOT:PSS is conductive because it contains the conjugated intrinsically conductive polymer (ICP) PEDOT.

Read more... PEDOT:PSS Conductive Polymer

PEDOT:PSS is a blend of two distinct polymers: poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and polystyrene sulfonate (PSS). This combination forms a p-type semiconductor which is highly valued for its ability to conduct electricity and its ease of processibility.

Read more... References
  1. Nie, S. et al. (2021). Progress in Synthesis of Conductive Polymer Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene), Front. Chem., 9.doi:10.3389/fchem.2021.803509
  2. Yamamoto, T. et al.(1999), Synthesis of non-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and its spectroscopic data, Synth. Met., 100(2), doi:10.1016/S0379-6779(99)00005-3
  3. Gueye, M. et al.(2020). Progress in understanding structure and transport properties of PEDOT-based materials: A critical review. Prog. Mater. Sci., 108, doi:10.1016/j.pmatsci.2019.100616
  1. Culebras, M. et al.(2014). Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of PEDOT with Different Counter-ions Optimized by Chemical Reduction. J. Mater. Chem., 2, doi:10.1039/C4TA01012D
  2. Zotti, G., et al. (2003). Electrochemical and XPS Studies toward the Role of Monomeric and Polymeric Sulfonate Counterions in the Synthesis, Composition, and Properties of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), Macromolecules, 36(9), doi:10.1021/ma021715k
  3. Gueye, M. et al. (2016). Structure and Dopant Engineering in PEDOT Thin Films: Practical Tools for a Dramatic Conductivity Enhancement, Chem. Mater., 28(10), doi:10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b01035
  4. Li, Y. et al. (2015), Ambient stable large-area flexible organic solar cells using silver grid hybrid with vapor phase polymerized poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene) cathode,Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, 143 doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2015.07.022
  5. Winther-Jensen, B. et al. (2020) Vapor-Phase Polymerization of 3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene: A Route to Highly Conducting Polymer Surface Layers, Macromolecules, 37(12).doi:10.1021/ma049864l
  6. Cho, B. et al. (2014) Single-Crystal Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Nanowires with Ultrahigh Conductivity, Nano. Lett., 14(6).doi:10.1021/nl500748y

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