Unraveling vertical inhomogeneity in vapour phase polymerized PEDOT:Tos filmsShow others and affiliations
2020 (English)In: Journal of Materials Chemistry A, ISSN 2050-7488, E-ISSN 2050-7496, Vol. 8, no 36, p. 18726-18734Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) forms a promising alternative to conventional inorganic conductors, where deposition of thin filmsviavapour phase polymerization (VPP) has gained particular interest owing to high electrical conductivity within the plane of the film. The conductivity perpendicular to the film is typically much lower, which may be related not only to preferential alignment of PEDOT crystallites but also to vertical stratification across the film. In this study, we reveal non-linear vertical microstructural variations across VPP PEDOT:Tos thin films, as well as significant differences in doping level between the top and bottom surfaces. The results are consistent with a VPP mechanism based on diffusion-limited transport of polymerization precursors. Conducting polymer films with vertical inhomogeneity may find applications in gradient-index optics, functionally graded thermoelectrics, and optoelectronic devices requiring gradient doping.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Royal Society of Chemistry , 2020. Vol. 8, no 36, p. 18726-18734
Keywords [en]
Conducting polymers, Crystallites, Gradient index optics, Optoelectronic devices, Polymerization, Semiconductor doping, Thin films, Diffusion-limited transport, Functionally graded, High electrical conductivity, Mechanism-based, Microstructural variation, Poly(3, 4 ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), Thermoelectrics, Vertical stratification, Polymer films
National Category
Natural Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-51361DOI: 10.1039/d0ta06031cScopus ID: 2-s2.0-85091423592OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-51361DiVA, id: diva2:1516707
Note
Funding details: Vetenskapsrådet, VR; Funding details: Wenner-Gren Stiftelserna; Funding details: Stiftelsen för Strategisk Forskning, SSF; Funding details: Linköpings Universitet, LiU, 2009 00971; Funding details: Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse; Funding text 1: We thankfully acknowledge support from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, the Wenner-Gren Foundations, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, and the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU No. 2009 00971). The ESRF and the NWO are acknowledged for allocating beam time at the Dutch-Belgian beamline (DUBBLE) for the GIWAXS experiments.
2021-01-122021-01-122023-10-31Bibliographically approved