Highly conductive poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films are obtained using ionic liquids as additives. Upon adding 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate (EMIM TCB) to the conducting polymer, the conductivity increases to 2084 S cm−1; this is attributed to the phase separation of PSS leading to a structural change in the film. A comparative study with 1‐butyl‐3‐methyl imidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIM BF4) shows that EMIM TCB gives higher conductivity and transmittance and can be regarded as one of the most promising additives for the preparation of indium tin oxide (ITO)‐free organic devices using PEDOT:PSS/EMIM TCB as electrodes.
Highly water-repellent surfaces have been prepared from arrayed nanowires
of zinc oxide (ZnO) by a treatment with stearic acid. The layers are
electrochemically deposited on a nanocrystalline seed layer from an oxygenated
aqueous zinc chloride solution. An advancing contact angle (CA) as high as
176° is obtained with a
very small hysteresis ∼1°. These results, supplemented by infrared spectroscopy, show that the stearic acid forms a
very well-packed self-assembled monolayer. The CA measurements show a very good
stability of the treated surface even when exposed to harsh conditions or long-term ambient
illumination.
The
demand for lower cost and flexible electronics has driven industry
to develop alternative transparent electrode (TE) materials to replace
indium tin oxide (ITO). ITO is the benchmark TE on the market, but
its high cost and low flexibility limit it for use in future technologies.
Recent work has shown the combination of the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)–polystyrenesulfonate
(PEDOT:PSS) with the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium
tetracyanoborate (EMIM:TCB) is a viable ITO replacement. The work
presented here investigates the nature of the interaction between
PEDOT:PSS and EMIM:TCB in the solution state. A combination of scattering
methods is used to illustrate a novel, multilength scale model of
this system. At length scales larger than 300 nm PEODT:PSS adopts
a microgel-like structure, and below ∼300 nm the system adopts
an entangled polyelectrolyte mesh structure. As EMIM:TCB is added,
the microgel interior adopts a more neutral polymer mesh structure
as EMIM:TCB concentration is increased.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.