Engineering the Thermoelectrical Properties of PEDOT:PSS by Alkali Metal Ion Effect

• 作者: Jingjin Dong Jian Liu Xinkai Qiu Ryan Chiechi L.Jan Anton Koster Giuseppe Portale
• 来源期刊: 工程（英文）
• 年，卷（期）: 2021,（5）
• 所属期刊栏目: Green Chemical Engineering:Soft Matter—Article
• 页码范围: 647-654
• 页数: 8页
• 语种: 英文

摘要

Engineering the electrical properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS)holds great potential for various applications such as sensors,thermoelectric(TE)genera-tors,and hole transport layers in solar cells.Various strategies have been applied to achieve optimal elec-trical properties,including base solution post-treatments.However,the working mechanism and the exact details of the structural transformations induced by base post-treatments are still unclear.In this work,we present a comparative study on the post-treatment effects of using three common and green alkali base solutions:namely LiOH,NaOH,and KOH.The structural modifications induced in the film by the base post-treatments are studied by techniques including atomic force microscopy,grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering,ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectroscopy,and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.Base-induced structural modifications are responsible for an improvement in the TE power factor of the films,which depends on the basic solution used.The results are explained on the basis of the different affinity between the alkali cations and the PSS chains,which determines PEDOT dedoping.The results presented here shed light on the structural reor-ganization occurring in PEDOT:PSS when exposed to high-pH solutions and may serve as inspiration to create future pH-/ion-responsive devices for various applications.