The Morphological Power of Soap: How Surfactants Lower the Sheet Resistance of PEDOT:PSS by Strong Impact on Inner Film Structure and Molecular Interface Orientation

Palumbiny, Claudia M.; Schlipf, Johannes; Hexemer, Alexander; Wang, Cheng; Müller‐Buschbaum, Peter

doi:10.1002/aelm.201500377

Cited by 50 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…So that the carriers in the PEDOT chains can better hop into other chains, improving its mobility. 13,38 As mentioned in previous Raman results, in the case of PEDOT:PSS for which sodium ions were removed during polymerization, the doping level of PEDOT chains increased. Also, the interaction between PEDOT and PSS chains decreased due to the lower electronegativity of sodium ions combined with the sulfonate groups of PSS chains.…”

Section: Electrical and Optical Properties Of Pedot:pss With And Withmentioning

confidence: 59%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Influence of residual sodium ions on the structure and properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)

Cho

Kim

et al. 2018

RSC Adv.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is a promising conducting polymer in terms of its applicability to transparent and flexible electronic devices. Generally, a negatively charged PSS chain can interact with alkali metal cations like sodium and potassium. During polymerization, these ions, especially sodium ions, remain in an aqueous state and affect particle formation. This paper describes the effect of residual sodium ions on the synthesis of PEDOT:PSS and its electrical and optical properties. Removing the sodium ions weakens the coulombic interaction between the PEDOT and PSS chains, which leads to a linear conformation. This conformational change enhances the electrical conductivity and work function. Furthermore, transmittance in the visible region increased remarkably because the intrinsic electrical properties of the PEDOT:PSS particles were improved. Moreover, the colloidal stability was enhanced because the particle coagulation caused by residual sodium ions was reduced. In summary, we determined that sodium ions in PEDOT:PSS have a considerable influence on its electrical and optical properties and colloidal stability for practical applications.

show abstract

Section: Electrical and Optical Properties Of Pedot:pss With And Withmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…This is because the conformational change to the linear structure of the PEDOT:PSS chain resulted in lower intrinsic resistance for the particles, so fewer PEDOT:PSS particles are required for the same sheet resistance. 17,41 As a result of the reduction in the number of PEDOT:PSS particles, the transmittance increases with the sheet resistance.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of residual sodium ions on the structure and properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)

Cho

Kim

et al. 2018

RSC Adv.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[274] Moreover, Zonyl increases the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS by modifying its morphology. [275] As a result the device efficiency was increased to 11.34%. [271] By nanostructuring the Si as for example by replacing the flat Si by Si nanowires the efficiencies were demonstrated to be further increased since loss from reflection of the incident light was reduced.…”

Section: Recent Concepts and Pathways To Higher Efficienciesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Hybrid Photovoltaics – from Fundamentals towards Application

Müller‐Buschbaum

Thelakkat

Fässler

et al. 2017

Advanced Energy Materials

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In hybrid photovoltaics, an organic and an inorganic semiconductor are combined in the active layer, with the advantages of both material classes in a single device. The organic component contributes towards the possibility for wet chemical device preparation with potentially low costs in combination with achieving flexible devices. From the inorganic component an increase in stability, as well as superior opto‐electronic properties, is added. Given the large diversity of organic and inorganic semiconductors, a large number of possible realizations of hybrid solar cells emerge. In the present review, we limit to hybrid solar cells which combine conjugated polymers with inorganic materials such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, silicon, germanium and quantum dots to keep focused. Particular emphasis is put on different routes to tailor nanostructures, such as the use of semiconductor block copolymers. The inorganic component is either synthesized directly in one of the blocks or added as a pre‐synthesized nanomaterial to form the hybrid material. Alternatively, the block copolymer is used as a structure‐directing template in a sol–gel synthesis approach to have tailored inorganic nanostructures, which are back‐filled with the organic component to fabricate the hybrid material. Hybrid solar cells based on crystalline Si are discussed for comparison.

show abstract

“…Rather, those with two or more polar groups influence the morphology much the same as the processing conditions. 68,94 PEDOT:PSS films are known to have a PSS-rich layer at the surface, and there is evidence to suggest that this insulating layer can be removed with post-treatments, [95][96][97] if not simply when spin-coating the active layer. 76 Post-treatments usually involve submerging the PEDOT:PSS film in a bath of solvent or spin-coating a solvent on top, examples include but are not limited to: EG, DMSO and glycerol monostearate (GMS).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, such treatments may also, or solely, increase the size of the PEDOT-rich domains. 68,94,96,98 Unfortunately, PEDOT:PSS is not without its problems. The hygroscopicity, acidity and chemical reactivity can have a detrimental effect on OPV stability and lifetime.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of perfluorinated ionomer in PEDOT:PSS on the rectification and degradation of organic photovoltaic cells

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is widely used to build optoelectronic devices. However, as a hygroscopic waterbased acidic material, it brings major concerns for stability and degradation, resulting in an intense effort to replace it in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices. In this work, we focus on the perfluorinated ionomer (PFI) polymeric additive to PEDOT:PSS. We demonstrate that it can reduce the relative amplitude of OPV device burn-in, and find two distinct regimes of influence. At low concentrations there is a subtle effect on wetting and work function, for instance, with a detrimental impact on the device characteristics, and above a threshold it changes the electronic and device properties. The abrupt threshold in the conducting polymer occurs for PFI concentrations greater than or equal to the PSS concentration and was revealed by monitoring variations in transmission, topography, work-function, wettability and OPV device characteristics. Below this PFI concentration threshold, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of OPVs based on poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) are impaired largely by low fill-factors due to poor charge extraction. Above the PFI concentration threshold, we recover the PCE before it is improved beyond the pristine PEDOT:PSS layer based OPV devices. Supplementary to the performance enhancement, PFI improves OPV device stability and lifetime. Our degradation study leads to the conclusion that PFI prevents water from diffusing to and from the hygrosopic PEDOT:PSS layer, which slows down the deterioration of the PEDOT:PSS layer and the aluminum electrode. These findings reveal mechanisms and opportunities that should be taken into consideration when developing components to inhibit OPV degradation. 35-38 whilst oxidation, delamination and interfacial effects may occur at the electrodes. 39-45 Metal ion diffusion from the electrodes and changes in morphology have also been reported in both the active and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) layers. C. T. Howells et al. 2/14organic optoelectronics between indium tin oxide (ITO) anodes and active layers. [54][55][56][57] With its metal properties, 58-62 PEDOT:PSS and similar conducting layers are part of the contact and are sometimes called hole injection layers in light emitting devices. By analogy, in this solar cell work, PEDOT:PSS is then referred to as a hole extraction layer (HEL) rather than a hole transport layer or interlayer. The large ionisation potential promotes an Ohmic contact and improves the built-in electric field, whilst high conductivity and transparency ensure minimal resistive and optical losses, respectively. 53,63,64 The HEL also helps to prevent metal ion diffusion from the ITO into the active layer and the cathode from short-circuiting the anode. 50 The PSS is a water-soluble polyelectrolyte that serves as a charge balancing dopant during the polymerisation of EDOT monomers. It oxidises and stabi...

show abstract

The Morphological Power of Soap: How Surfactants Lower the Sheet Resistance of PEDOT:PSS by Strong Impact on Inner Film Structure and Molecular Interface Orientation

Cited by 50 publications

References 38 publications

Influence of residual sodium ions on the structure and properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)

Influence of residual sodium ions on the structure and properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)

Hybrid Photovoltaics – from Fundamentals towards Application

Influence of perfluorinated ionomer in PEDOT:PSS on the rectification and degradation of organic photovoltaic cells

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About