Free-Standing Composite Films Based on Thiol-Ene and PEDOT: PSS Layers for Optoelectronic Applications

Abstract

Free-standing composite films were fabricated by combining the plane parallel layers of thiol-ene based on pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate)-1,3,5-triallyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-trione (PETMP-TTT) UV curable polymer and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) conductive polymer. A systematic analysis was performed with the focus on mechanical performance of the free-standing composite films. The PEDOT:PSS/PETMP-TTT composite exhibited higher values of adhesion force compared to the free-standing PETMP-TTT film due to hydrophilic nature of the PEDOT:PSS layer. The composite was found to be highly transparent in the range of 380–800 nm. The Young’s modulus and tensile strength of PETMP-TTT were found to be 3.6 ± 0.4 GPa and 19 ± 3 MPa, while for PEDOT:PSS/PETMP-TTT to be 3.5 ± 0.3 GPa and 20 ± 3 MPa, respectively. The sheet resistance values of the PEDOT:PSS layer in the composite film were found to be highly stable after a number of bending iterations with slight increase in sheet resistance from 108 to 118 ± 2 Ω/□. The resultant PEDOT:PSS/PETMP-TTT composite can be further used in optoelectronic applications.

Electrical Characterization of Thin PEDOT:PSS Films on Alumina and Thiol–Ene Substrates

“…These coatings can be permanently microstructured by UV casting or hot embossing, and are capable of recovering mechanically deformed surface microstructures after heat treatment above the glass transition temperature of the polymer [37,38]. Recently, we reported on the fabrication of PEDOT:PSS and thiol-ene bilayers for optoelectronic applications, and described the initial results on the measurements of the mechanical and optical properties of such composite films [39]. This paper presents the results of the electrical characterization of DMSO-doped PEDOT:PSS films on thiol-ene substrates.…”