Pérez, G.E., Bernardo, G., Gaspar, H. et al. (4 more authors) (2019) Determination of the thin film structure of zwitterion doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate): a neutron reflectivity study. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 11 (14). pp. 13803-13811. ISSN 1944-8244
Abstract
Doping poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is known to improve its conductivity, however little is known about the thin film structure of PEDOT:PSS when doped with an asymmetrically charged dopant. In this study, PEDOT:PSS was doped with diferent concentrations of the zwiterion 3-(N,N Dimethylmyristylammonio)propanesulfonate (DYMAP), and its effect on the bulk structure of the films characterized by neutron reflectivity. The results show that at low doping concentration, the film separates into a quasi bi-layer structure with lower roughness, (10%), increased thickness (18%), and lower electrical conductivity compared to the undoped sample. However when the doping concentration increases the film forms into a homogeneous layer and experiences an enhanced conductivity by more than an order of magnitude, a 20% smoother surface, and a 60% thickness increase relative to the pristine sample. Atomic force microscopy and profilometry measurements confirmed these findings, and AFM height and phase images showed the gradually increasing presence of DYMAP on the film surface as a function of the concentration. Neutron reflectivity also showed that the quasi bi-layer structure of the lowest concentration doped PEDOT:PSS is separated by a graded rather than a well defined interface. Our findings provide an understanding of the layer structure modification for doped PEDOT:PSS films that should be prove important for device applications.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 American Chemical Society. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | conductivity; film structure; hole-transporting layer; neutron reflectivity; PEDOT:PSS; zwitterion |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL (EPSRC) EP/M025020/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 28 Mar 2019 11:44 |
Last Modified: | 22 Nov 2021 11:18 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1021/acsami.9b02700 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:144198 |