Polymer PEDOT Research Articles

A hybrid trans-modal liquid crystal optical vortex generator

This work experimentally validates a large-aperture optical vortex generator using a novel hybrid structure, combining transmission electrode and modal techniques, in what we term the trans-modal technique. The continuous transmission electrode is designed to generate a linear voltage distribution between the contact electrodes, while the electrode stubs distribute the voltage across the active area. A high-resistivity layer of the conducting polymer PEDOT fills the gap between the electrodes, resulting in a completely continuous voltage distribution. A 1-cm aperture device is experimentally demonstrated, but the structure is completely scalable. Theoretical results validate the design, and experimental results demonstrate precise control over the topological charge for both positive and negative values of orbital angular momentum. Remarkably, the conversion efficiency for the first topological charges is almost 100%. The reduction in efficiency of the higher-order modes has been explained theoretically, and it is not caused by design but by the PEDOT characteristics. The fabrication process is straightforward, as the high-resistivity layer may also be inhomogeneous. This work contributes significantly to the field by introducing a novel method for optical vortex generation. The simplicity of the fabrication process, high conversion efficiency, and ability to control the topological charge make this technique a promising avenue for future research and applications.

Development of 1D-Metalloid-Induced Highly Porous Carbon Nanofiber Conjugated with PEDOT Polymer Through Concurrent Selenization of ZIF-67 for Energy Storage and Green H2 Production.

Manufacturing high-performance and cost-affordable non-metallic, electroactive 1D carbon material for energy storage and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of foremost importance to respond positively to the impending energy crisis. Porous N-doped carbon nanofiber (PNCNF) is successfully synthesized by electrospinning, using selenium nanoparticles as a sacrificial template (where Se is reutilized for ZIF-67 selenization as a bi-process, and the surface of PNCNF is modified with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PNCNT/PEDOT) by electropolymerization. The prepared materials are found ideal for energy storage (supercapacitor) and electrocatalysis (HER). The bi-functional material has shown excellent energy storage capability with the specific capacitance (CS) of 230F g-1 (PNCNF) and 395F g-1 (PNCNF/PEDOT), and the symmetric supercapacitor device, PNCNF/PEDOT//PEDOT/PNCNF, exhibits 32.4Wh kg-1 energy density at 14400W kg-1 power density with 96.6% Coulombic efficiency and 106% CS at the end of 5000 charge-discharge cycles. The rate capability of the symmetric supercapacitor cell of PNCNF/PEDOT is 51% for the current density increase from 1 to 8A g-1, while that of PNCNF is a meager 29% only. Electrocatalytic HER at the PNCNF electrode is achieved with an overpotential of 281mV@10mA cm-2 relative to the Pt/C electrode and a low Tafel slop value of 96mV dec-1.

Direct Ink Writing of Highly Conductive and Strongly Adhesive PEDOT:PSS-EP Coatings for Antistatic Applications

As the information age progresses, the electronics industry is evolving towards smaller and more sophisticated products. However, electrostatic potentials easily penetrate these components, causing damage. This underscores the urgent need for materials with superior antistatic properties to safeguard electronic devices from such damage. Antistatic coatings typically rely on polymers as the primary material, enhanced with conductive fillers and additives to improve performance. Despite significant progress, these coatings still face challenges related to advanced processing technologies and the integration of electrical and mechanical properties. Among various conductive fillers, the conducting polymer PEDOT:PSS stands out for its exceptional conductivity, environmental stability, and long cycle life. Additionally, epoxy resin (EP) is widely utilized in polymer coatings due to its strong adhesion to diverse substrates during curing. Here, we develop highly conductive and strongly adhesive PEDOT:PSS inks by combining PEDOT:PSS with EP using a composite engineering approach. These inks are used to fabricate PEDOT:PSS coatings by direct ink writing (DIW). We systematically evaluate the DIW of PEDOT:PSS-EP coatings, which show high electrical conductivity (ranging from 0.59 ± 0.07 to 41.50 ± 3.26 S cm−1), strong adhesion (ranging from 15.84 ± 2.18 to 99.3 ± 9.06 kPa), and robust mechanical strength (8 MPa). Additionally, we examine the surface morphology, wettability, and hardness of the coatings with varying PEDOT:PSS content. The resultant coatings demonstrate significant potential for applications in antistatic protection, electromagnetic shielding, and other flexible electronic technologies.

Flexible and washable MXene@PEDOT:PSS@CS@PU pressure sensors

Flexible electronics have attracted great interest because of their potential applications in healthcare monitoring and human-computer interaction. The performance of flexible electronics depends on the design of structure, materials, and mechanical responses. In this work, we explore the use of polyurethane (PU) sponge as the scaffold to form flexible piezoresistive pressure sensors with conductive networks made from conductive polymer PEDOT:PSS and MXene nanosheets. The sensitivity of the prepared pressure sensors reaches 0.2171 kPa−1 under mechanical pressure in a range of 1.8–6.15 kPa. The prepared pressure sensors are re-usable after washing. The applications of the prepared pressure sensors in the sensing of physiological behavior are demonstrated under the action of finger tapping, finger bending, vocal cord vibration, swallowing, and pulsing of radial artery. The prepared pressure sensors have great prospects for applications in human-machine interaction and physiological diagnosis.

Investigating the Effect of Weave Type and Filament Count on Electrical Conductivity of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Fabrics Coated with PEDOT Polymer

The rapid development of smart and wearable textiles has been driven by the need for smaller and lighter electronic circuits. To make textile surfaces conductive, various methods have been developed, with vapor-phase polymerization being a preferred method due to its smoothness, conductivity, and ease of application. This study investigates the effect of fundamental characteristics of textile fabrics, such as weave type and filament count, on electrical conductivity. Fabrics woven with different filament counts and weave types were coated with PEDOT polymer using vapor-phase polymerization. The results showed that the fabric woven with 150F288 yarns and a 3/1 twill weave exhibited lower electrical resistance, attributed to the microfibrous structure of the yarn and the twill's staggered structure. Despite increases in resistance values after performance tests, the electrical resistance values remained within a sufficient conductivity range. This research contributes to the understanding of how fabric characteristics affect the electrical conductivity of coated textiles, paving the way for the development of smart electronic textiles.

Electro-active superposed optical ring vortex beams based on PEDOT: SULF composite metasurface

Electro-active metasurfaces with high efficiency and ultra-small scale active control of integrated components are crucial for developing complex optical devices. Recent attention has focused on vortex beams with ring intensity distribution independent of topological charge, enhancing particle manipulation and fiber optic transmission efficiency. This paper presents a composite metasurface utilizing the conductive polymer PEDOT: SULF, capable of generating and dynamically switching between two types of superposed ring vortex beams. We investigate their characteristics and polarization detection capabilities. Accurate detection of major axis, ellipticity, and handedness of incident polarized light is achieved based on the two superposed ring vortex beams. The metasurface exhibits excellent switching performance, enabling flexible tuning of the ring vortex beams on demand. Additionally, we demonstrate the metasurface's good polarization detection performance for incident polarized light as an application example. The PEDOT: SULF composite metasurface holds great potential in polarization detection, quantum science, and compact photonics-integrated devices.

MnO2 Nanoparticles Decorated PEDOT:PSS for High Performance Stretchable and Transparent Supercapacitors.

With the swift advancement of wearable electronics and artificial intelligence, the integration of electronic devices with the human body has advanced significantly, leading to enhanced real-time health monitoring and remote disease diagnosis. Despite progress in developing stretchable materials with skin-like mechanical properties, there remains a need for materials that also exhibit high optical transparency. Supercapacitors, as promising energy storage devices, offer advantages such as portability, long cycle life, and rapid charge/discharge rates, but achieving high capacity, stretchability, and transparency simultaneously remains challenging. This study combines the stretchable, transparent polymer PEDOT:PSS with MnO2 nanoparticles to develop high-performance, stretchable, and transparent supercapacitors. PEDOT:PSS films were deposited on a PDMS substrate using a spin-coating method, followed by electrochemical deposition of MnO2 nanoparticles. This method ensured that the nanosized MnO2 particles were uniformly distributed, maintaining the transparency and stretchability of PEDOT:PSS. The resulting PEDOT:PSS/MnO2 nanoparticle electrodes were gathered into a symmetric device using a LiCl/PVA gel electrolyte, achieving an areal capacitance of 1.14 mF cm-2 at 71.2% transparency and maintaining 89.92% capacitance after 5000 cycles of 20% strain. This work presents a scalable and economical technique to manufacturing supercapacitors that combine high capacity, transparency, and mechanical stretchability, suggesting potential applications in wearable electronics.

Photography-Inspired Patterned Vapor Phase Polymerization of Conductive PEDOT on Rigid and Stretchable Substrates

Photography-Inspired Patterned Vapor Phase Polymerization of Conductive PEDOT on Rigid and Stretchable Substrates

Synthesis of conducting polymer by gamma Co-60 ray in aqueous solution

This report presents the findings of a study on the synthesis of the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) using gamma Co-60 radiation in an aqueous solution saturated with N2 gas, containing 5 mM EDOT monomer and 0.2 M isopropanol. Gamma radiation with doses ranging from 12 kGy to 58 kGy from a gamma Co-60 source was employed. To assess the chemical composition of the solution before and after irradiation, UV-Vis and FTIR absorption spectra were examined. The results indicated the formation of yellow suspensions in the solution after irradiation, along with the emergence of dimers, oligomers, and PEDOT polymers as evidenced by UV-Vis spectra. The dried powders obtained from the irradiated solutions confirmed the successful synthesis of PEDOT, exhibiting distinct chemical structural characteristics in the FTIR spectra. These findings demonstrate the effective radiation-induced synthesis of conducting PEDOT polymer using gamma Co-60 irradiation.

Vapor phase polymerization of PEDOT on ITO/glass surfaces for nonenzymatic detection of dopamine

This study demonstrates the deposition of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) as an electrically conductive polymer on the ITO-coated glass surfaces for the production of a non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor to detect dopamine. For this purpose, thin films of PEDOT were synthesized using vapor phase polymerization (VPP) from the corresponding monomer 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene, in which iron(III)chloride was used as the oxidant. Films were deposited at different substrate temperatures, where the temperature dependence of doping and conjugation levels were studied using FTIR and XPS analyses. The highest doping and conjugation levels, as well as the highest film thickness (380 nm) was observed for the film deposited at 40 °C, which represented the highest conductivity of 111 S/cm. Significant differences were observed between the electrochemical responses of ITO/glass and PEDOT/ITO electrodes. Amperometric measurements indicated a limit of detection value of 2.02 µM for dopamine using as-synthesized PEDOT/ITO electrode.

Wafer-scale fabrication of mesoporous silicon functionalized with electrically conductive polymers

The fabrication of hybrid materials consisting of nanoporous hosts with conductive polymers is a challenging task, since the extreme spatial confinement often conflicts with the stringent physico-chemical requirements for polymerization of organic constituents. Here, several low-threshold and scalable synthesis routes for such hybrids are presented. First, the electrochemical synthesis of composites based on mesoporous silicon (pSi) and the polymers PANI, PPy and PEDOT is discussed and validated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Polymer filling degrees of ≥74 % are achieved. Second, the production of PEDOT/pSi hybrids, based on the solid-state polymerization (SSP) of DBEDOT to PEDOT is shown. The resulting amorphous structure of the nanopore-embedded PEDOT is investigated via in-situ synchrotron-based X-ray scattering. In addition, a twofold increase in the electrical conductivity of the hybrid compared to the porous silicon host is shown, making this system particularly promising for thermoelectric applications.

Electrochemical polymerization of PEDOT:PSS with graphene oxide and silver nanoparticles for antibacterial coating and SERS detection

This study involved the use of electrochemical polymerization to coat poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) and graphene oxide (GO) onto SUS316L stainless steel substrates, aiming to produce PEDOT:PSS and GO@PEDOT:PSS films. Following this, Ag@PEDOT:PSS and GO/Ag@PEDOT:PSS films were developed through the electrochemical deposition of silver nitrate. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicated that adding GO increased the impedance of film, while AgNPs deposition decreased it, thereby enhancing conductivity. Films with AgNPs showed surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effects, as assessed using malachite green (MG). Compared to films without GO, the GO/Ag@PEDOT:PSS films exhibit enhanced conductivity and SERS detection performance due to the negatively charged functional groups on the GO surface forming a continuous layer of AgNPs. Moreover, antibacterial capabilities were evaluated through bacterial attachment and inhibition zone assays. Both Ag@PEDOT:PSS and GO/Ag@PEDOT:PSS films were effective in inhibiting bacterial adhesion, achieving up to 99.4 % and 99.0 % inhibition, respectively. In the inhibition zone assays, the GO/Ag@PEDOT:PSS film showed a 1.33 times increase in antibacterial efficacy compared to Ag@PEDOT:PSS. Furthermore, the effectiveness of electrodepositing antibiotics on these substrates was investigated, confirming optimal antibacterial performance. This efficacy is attributed to the synergistic interaction between silver nanoparticles and antibiotics, potentially reducing the need for antibiotics. The findings of this study highlight its significant potential for applications in antibacterial treatments and biomedical detection.

Development of an Innovative Biosensor Based on Graphene/PEDOT/Tyrosinase for the Detection of Phenolic Compounds in River Waters.

Phenolic compounds, originating from industrial, agricultural, and urban sources, can leach into flowing waters, adversely affecting aquatic life, biodiversity, and compromising the quality of drinking water, posing potential health hazards to humans. Thus, monitoring and mitigating the presence of phenolic compounds in flowing waters are essential for preserving ecosystem integrity and safeguarding public health. This study explores the development and performance of an innovative sensor based on screen-printed electrode (SPE) modified with graphene (GPH), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), and tyrosinase (Ty), designed for water analysis, focusing on the manufacturing process and the obtained electroanalytical results. The proposed biosensor (SPE/GPH/PEDOT/Ty) was designed to achieve a high level of precision and sensitivity, as well as to allow efficient analytical recoveries. Special attention was given to the manufacturing process and optimization of the modifying elements' composition. This study highlights the potential of the biosensor as an efficient and reliable solution for water analysis. Modification with graphene, the synthesis and electropolymerization deposition of the PEDOT polymer, and tyrosinase immobilization contributed to obtaining a high-performance and robust biosensor, presenting promising perspectives in monitoring the quality of the aquatic environment. Regarding the electroanalytical experimental results, the detection limits (LODs) obtained with this biosensor are extremely low for all phenolic compounds (8.63 × 10-10 M for catechol, 7.72 × 10-10 M for 3-methoxycatechol, and 9.56 × 10-10 M for 4-methylcatechol), emphasizing its ability to accurately measure even subtle variations in the trace compound parameters. The enhanced sensitivity of the biosensor facilitates detection and quantification in river water samples. Analytical recovery is also an essential aspect, and the biosensor presents consistent and reproducible results. This feature significantly improves the reliability and usefulness of the biosensor in practical applications, making it suitable for monitoring industrial or river water.

Ultrafast Metal-Free Microsupercapacitor Arrays Directly Store Instantaneous High-Voltage Electricity from Mechanical Energy Harvesters.

Harvesting renewable mechanical energy is envisioned as a promising and sustainable way for power generation. Many recent mechanical energy harvesters are able to produce instantaneous (pulsed) electricity with a high peak voltage of over 100 V. However, directly storing such irregular high-voltage pulse electricity remains a great challenge. The use of extra power management components can boost storage efficiency but increase system complexity. Here utilizing the conducting polymer PEDOT:PSS, high-rate metal-free micro-supercapacitor (MSC) arrays are successfully fabricated for direct high-efficiency storage of high-voltage pulse electricity. Within an area of 2.4 × 3.4cm2 on various paper substrates, large-scale MSC arrays (comprising up to 100 cells) can be printed to deliver a working voltage window of 160V at an ultrahigh scan rate up to 30V s-1. The ultrahigh rate capability enables the MSC arrays to quickly capture and efficiently store the high-voltage (≈150V) pulse electricity produced by a droplet-based electricity generator at a high efficiency of 62%, significantly higher than that (<2%) of the batteries or capacitors demonstrated in the literature. Moreover, the compact and metal-free features make these MSC arrays excellent candidates for sustainable high-performance energy storage in self-charging power systems.

Additive Blending Effects on PEDOT:PSS Composite Films for Wearable Organic Electrochemical Transistors.

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) employing conductive polymers (CPs) have gained remarkable prominence and have undergone extensive advancements in wearable and implantable bioelectronic applications in recent years. Among the diverse arrays of CPs, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is a common choice for the active-layer channel in p-type OECTs, showing a remarkably high transconductance for the high amplification of signals in biosensing applications. This investigation focuses on the novel engineering of PEDOT:PSS composite materials by seamlessly integrating several additives, namely, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GOPS), and a nonionic fluorosurfactant (NIFS), to fine-tune their electrical conductivity, self-healing capability, and stretchability. To elucidate the intricate influences of the DMSO, GOPS, and NIFS additives on the formation of PEDOT:PSS composite films, theoretical calculations were performed, encompassing the solubility parameters and surface energies of the constituent components of the NIFS, PEDOT, PSS, and PSS-GOPS polymers. Furthermore, we conducted a comprehensive array of material analyses, which reveal the intricacies of the phase separation phenomenon and its interaction with the materials' characteristics. Our research identified the optimal composition for the PEDOT:PSS composite films, characterized by outstanding self-healing and stretchable capabilities. This composition has proven to be highly effective for constructing an active-layer channel in the form of OECT-based biosensors fabricated onto polydimethylsiloxane substrates for detecting dopamine. Overall, these findings represent significant progress in the application of PEDOT:PSS composite films in wearable bioelectronics and pave the way for the development of state-of-the-art biosensing technologies.

PEDOT/CNT Flexible MEAs Reveal New Insights into the Clock Gene's Role in Dopamine Dynamics.

Substantial evidence has shown that the Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (Clock) gene is a core transcription factor of circadian rhythms that regulates dopamine (DA) synthesis. To shed light on the mechanism of this interaction, flexible multielectrode arrays (MEAs) are developed that can measure both DA concentrations and electrophysiology chronically. The dual functionality is enabled by conducting polymer PEDOT doped with acid-functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT). The PEDOT/CNT microelectrode coating maintained stable electrochemical impedance and DA detection by square wave voltammetry for 4 weeks in vitro. When implanted in wild-type (WT) and Clock mutation (MU) mice, MEAs measured tonic DA concentration and extracellular neural activity with high spatial and temporal resolution for 4 weeks. A diurnal change of DA concentration in WT is observed, but not in MU, and a higher basal DA concentration and stronger cocaine-induced DA increase in MU. Meanwhile, striatal neuronal firing rate is found to be positively correlated with DA concentration in both animal groups. These findings offer new insights into DA dynamics in the context of circadian rhythm regulation, and the chronically reliable performance and dual measurement capability of this technology hold great potentialfor a broad range of neuroscience research.

Non‐metallic Cation Storage using Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) Shells

AbstractPrevious studies propose that NH4+ storage in metal oxides and metallic ion storage using Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) both undergo diffusion‐controlled processes. This study, employing experimental and simulation studies, reveals that flower‐like PEDOT shells predominantly store NH4+ ions storage through surface‐controlled processes, constituting over 80 percent of the overall storage. NH4+ ions interact with PEDOT′s π–π stacking via van der Waals interactions, circumventing ionization energy and entropy barriers. Additionally, the controlled polymerization and crystallinity of PEDOT contribute significantly to this storage process. The reduction in lamellar packing distance and face‐to‐face distance between the molecular chains, coupled with an increase in crystalline domains, intensifies inter‐chain weak interactions and extends the overlap length of wave functions. These findings offer a comprehensive insight into cation storage using organic polymers.

Multifunctional Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/Crystalline Nanofibrous Cellulose Composites for Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Electronics.

Nanocellulose constitutes promising resources for next-generation electronics, particularly when incorporated with conductive polymers due to their abundance, renewability, processability, biodegradability, flexibility, and mechanical performance. In this study, electrically conducting cellulose nanofibers were fabricated through in situ chemical polymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) on the surface of sulfuric acid-treated cellulose nanofibers (SACN). The utilization of highly crystalline SACN extracted from tunicate yielded synergistic effects in PEDOT polymerization for achieving a highly conductive and molecularly uniform coating. Polymerization parameters, such as monomer concentration, molar ratio with oxidants, and temperature, were systematically investigated. High electrical conductivity of up to 57.8 S cm-1 was obtained without utilizing the classical polystyrenesulfonate dopant. The resulting nanocomposite demonstrates the unique advantages of both electrically conductive PEDOT and mechanically robust high-crystalline cellulose nanofibers. As a proof-of-applicational concept, an electrical circuit was drawn with SACN-PEDOT as the conductive ink on flexible paper using a simple commercial extrusion-based printer. Furthermore, the flame-retardant property of SACN-PEDOT was demonstrated owing to the high crystallinity of SACN, effective char formation, and high conductivity of PEDOT. The multifunctional SACN-PEDOT developed in this study shows great promise to be employed in versatile applications as a low-cost, ecofriendly, flexible, and sustainable electrically conductive material.

Influence of protonic acid on the structure and properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) in oxidation polymerization.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is widely used because of its excellent performance. We report the synthesis of two PEDOT:PSS dispersions. The two dispersions differ by the addition of additional protonic acid in the oxidative polymerization system. Although there are examples of the introduction of acids into the polymerization system, the effects of acid on the structure and properties of these materials, in particular their mechanisms of action, have not been elucidated. We describe the chemical structure and molecular weight of two PEDOT polymers using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations. The carrier concentration, carrier mobility, and surface morphology of the composites are characterized by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, electron spin resonance, Raman spectra, Hall effect measurements, and atomic force microscopy. The crystallinity of PEDOT:PSS was measured by X-ray diffraction patterns. We show that the addition of a proper amount of protonic acid to the oxidative polymerization system can effectively reduce the formation of the terminal carbonyl group of PEDOT chains, which is conducive to the growth of polymer chains, and further improve the carrier concentration, which leads to an improvement of conductivity. Our results highlight the optimization of the chemical structure of PEDOT in order to increase its molecular weight and ultimately its conductivity.

Electrodeposition of conductive polymer PEDOT on the surface of the LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 electrode for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

Electrochemical polymerization of PEDOT on the NCM811 cathode and aluminum foil enhances bonding strength and cycling stability by reducing side reactions with the electrolyte.