Influence of PEG-ran-PPG Surfactant on Vapour Phase Polymerised PEDOT Thin Films.

The oxidant, Fe(III) tosylate, was used in the vapour phase polymerisation (VPP) of PEDOT. The amphiphilic co-polymer poly(ethylene glycol-ran-propylene glycol) was added and its influence examined. Both the PEDOT conductivity and optical contrast range increased with the inclusion of the co-polymer, with the maximum being recorded at 4 wt.-%. Loadings higher than this resulted in a systematic decrease in both conductivity and optical contrast. Evidence indicates that in addition to the beneficial anti-crystallisation effect to the oxidant layer, the co-polymer also reduces the effective reactivity of the oxidant, as demonstrated by slower polymerisation rates. Confirmation of the change in polymerisation rate was obtained using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The slower polymerisation rate results in higher conductivity and optical contrast; however, XPS data confirmed that the co-polymer remained within the PEDOT film post-washing and this result explains why the performance decreases at high surfactant loadings.

[1]  Haeseong Lee,et al.  The preparation and characteristics of conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) thin film by vapor-phase polymerization , 2003 .

[2]  C. K. Chiang,et al.  Electrical Conductivity in Doped Polyacetylene. , 1977 .

[3]  Manrico Fabretto,et al.  Improved PEDOT Conductivity via Suppression of Crystallite Formation in Fe(III) Tosylate During Vapor Phase Polymerization , 2008 .

[4]  Keld West,et al.  Vapor-Phase Polymerization of 3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene: A Route to Highly Conducting Polymer Surface Layers , 2004 .

[5]  Jaegab Lee,et al.  Aminosilane SAM‐Assisted Patterning of Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) Nanofilm Robustly Adhered to SiO2 Substrate , 2007 .

[6]  L. Pettersson,et al.  Spectroscopic ellipsometry studies of the optical properties of doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): an anisotropic metal , 1998 .

[7]  Richard B. Kaner,et al.  Polyaniline Nanofiber Gas Sensors: Examination of Response Mechanisms , 2004 .

[8]  Friedrich Jonas,et al.  Optical, conductive and magnetic properties of electrochemically prepared alkylated poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)s , 2001 .

[9]  Keld West,et al.  Base inhibited oxidative polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene with iron(III)tosylate , 2005 .

[10]  G. Wallace,et al.  Vapor-phase polymerization of pyrrole and thiophene using iron (III) sulfonates as oxidizing agents , 2004 .

[11]  F. Touwslager,et al.  Morphology and conductivity of PEDOT/PSS films studied by scanning-tunneling microscopy , 2004 .

[12]  H. Sandberg,et al.  Towards all-polymer field-effect transistors with solution processable materials , 2005 .

[13]  S. Hayashi,et al.  Influences of nonionic poly(ethylene glycol) polymer PEG on electrokinetic and rheological properties of bentonite suspensions , 2002 .

[14]  K. Gleason,et al.  Oxidative Chemical Vapor Deposition of Electrically Conducting Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Films , 2006 .

[15]  D. Vanderzande,et al.  Plasma deposition of thiophene derivatives under atmospheric pressure , 2006 .

[16]  Donal D. C. Bradley,et al.  Fabrication of Highly Conductive Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) Films by Vapor Phase Polymerization and Their Application in Efficient Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes , 2007 .

[17]  Marie Angelopoulos,et al.  Conducting polymers in microelectronics , 2001, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[18]  A. Heeger,et al.  Synthesis of electrically conducting organic polymers: halogen derivatives of polyacetylene, (CH)x , 1977 .

[19]  Brett D. Martin,et al.  Towards a Transparent, Highly Conductive Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) , 2004 .

[20]  Peter J. Murphy,et al.  High Conductivity PEDOT Using Humidity Facilitated Vacuum Vapour Phase Polymerisation , 2008 .

[21]  W. R. Salaneck,et al.  Photoelectron spectroscopy of thin films of PEDOT-PSS conjugated polymer blend: A mini-review and some new results , 2001 .

[22]  Wai-Yeung Wong,et al.  Metallated conjugated polymers as a new avenue towards high-efficiency polymer solar cells. , 2007, Nature materials.

[23]  Martin Malmsten,et al.  Effect of chain density on inhibition of protein adsorption by poly(ethylene glycol) based coatings , 1998 .

[24]  William R. Salaneck,et al.  The effects of solvents on the morphology and sheet resistance in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)–polystyrenesulfonic acid (PEDOT–PSS) films , 2003 .

[25]  Warren K. Mino,et al.  High contrast solid-state electrochromic devices from substituted 3,4-propylenedioxythiophenes using the dual conjugated polymer approach , 2007 .

[26]  John R. Reynolds,et al.  Enhanced Contrast Ratios and Rapid Switching in Electrochromics Based on Poly(3,4-propylenedioxythiophene) Derivatives , 1999 .

[27]  Binbin Xi,et al.  Enhanced control and stability of polypyrrole electromechanical actuators , 2004 .

[28]  William R. Salaneck,et al.  Conductivity, morphology, interfacial chemistry, and stability of poly(3,4‐ethylene dioxythiophene)–poly(styrene sulfonate): A photoelectron spectroscopy study , 2003 .

[29]  R. Nolte,et al.  Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-based copolymers for biosensor applications , 2002 .

[30]  J. Comyn.  High resolution XPS of organic polymers The Scienta ESCA300 Database , 1993 .

[31]  N. Manolova,et al.  Metal ion complex formation of poly(oxyethylene) with 5-chloro-8-quinolinoxyl end-groups , 1995 .