Transfer-Printed PEDOT:PSS Electrodes Using Mild Acids for High Conductivity and Improved Stability with Application to Flexible Organic Solar Cells.

UNLABELLED Highly conductive, flexible, and transparent electrodes (FTEs) of PEDOT PSS films on plastic substrates have been achieved using strong acid treatments. However, it is rare to realize a performance attenuation of PEDOT PSS FTEs on plastic substrates and flexible optoelectronic devices because of strong acid residues in the PEDOT PSS matrix. Herein, we develop a feasible transfer-printing technique using mild acids. Because of a mild and weak property of these acids and less acid residues in PEDOT PSS matrix, the transferred PEDOT PSS FTEs exhibited a significant enhancement in stability, conductivity (3500 S cm(-1)), transparency, and mechanical flexibility on plastic substrates. Flexible organic solar cells with the FTEs also showed a remarkable enhancement in power conversion efficiency and stability in the ambient atmosphere. It is expected that the novel transfer-printing technique for making PEDOT PSS FTEs is also useful in many other types of flexible optoelectronic devices.

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