Rising advancements in the application of PEDOT:PSS as a prosperous transparent and flexible electrode material for solution-processed organic electronics

Abstract

An organic conductive polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS), is an attractive candidate for a low-cost, low-temperature, and solution-processed electrode material for achieving high-performance flexible and stretchable thin-film devices. Unlike most organic materials, this water-soluble conjugated polymer is highly stable against chemical and physical exposure. It exhibits the most superior mechanical flexibility and the highest optical transparency and electrical conductivity among all organic conductors. Therefore, this conductive polymer is among the most promising alternatives to the expensive, rigid, and brittle metal oxide-and even metal-based electrode materials, such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and gold, in the future solutionprocessed electronic devices. Nevertheless, the intrinsic conductivity of PEDOT:PSS is typically below 1 S cm −1 , which is too low for such devices. Fortunately, the material properties of PEDOT:PSS, including its conductivity, are easily tuned by employing a large number of simple approaches. In this paper, the reports on the successful application of PEDOT:PSS to a wide range of solution-processed organic devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), and organic photovoltaics (OPVs), are reviewed. The recent progress in the development of highly conductive PEDOT:PSS-based films for electrode applications in the field of organic electronics is the main focus of the discussion herein.

Design and development of highly sensitive PEDOT-PSS/AuNP hybrid nanocomposite-based sensor towards room temperature detection of greenhouse methane gas at ppb level

“…20 The conductivity and sensitivity of commercially available PEDOT-PSS aqueous dispersions are low, these properties can be enhanced signicantly by secondary doping of PEDOT-PSS using high boiling point, organic polar solvents. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] In the recent past, many researchers have demonstrated an effective strategy to improve the conductivity and sensitivity of PEDOT-PSS thin lms by adding small quantities of polar solvents such as DMF, ethylene glycol, sorbitol, DMSO and glycerol. [23][24][25][26] Other efficient strategy to improve the performance of PEDOT-PSS in organic electronics is to form hybrid composites of PEDOT-PSS using nanollers.…”

Solution-processed colored electrodes for ITO-free blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes

“…A stable and efficient blue phosphorescent organic lightemitting diode (PhOLED) based on a 10-wt%-methylred-(MR)-doped poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) polymer anode was fabricated in this study. The doped PEDOT:PSS film exhibited conductivity 200 times higher than that of the pristine polymer, without integrating any other conductivity enhancement methods, such as solvent treatment or acid doping [24]. Similarly, the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) device with an MRdoped PEDOT:PSS anode demonstrated a considerably improved performance compared to the device with a pristine PEDOT:PSS anode, without using any additional improvement technique.…”

“…Moreover, the room-temperature and airpressure solution processability of PEDOT:PSS reduces the manufacturing costs and time, significantly promoting the growth of exciting innovations in large-area and printed electronics [9,11]. Despite the aforementioned privileges, however, that this conjugated polymer offers over ITO, including its excellent flexibility, its application as an electrode material is limited due to its low electrical conductivity [9,24].…”

Carbon Allotropes as ITO Electrode Replacement Materials in Liquid Crystal Devices

“…The chemistry, structure, and electronic transport properties have been reviewed in detail in some recent publications by Xia et al [63], Kayser and Lipomi [64], and very recently by Gueye et al [65] and by Huseynova et al [66].…”