PSS Thin Films Research Articles

Significant enhancement in the conductivity of highly transparent PEDOT:PSS thin film through maleic acid treatment

Abstract The conductivity of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS, a conducting polymer) thin film is enhanced by simply maleic acid treatment. Here, we have investigated the conductivity enhancement with the variation of maleic acid concentration. The conductivity enhances up to 1.0 M maleic acid concentration and decreases afterward. The optimum conductivity is obtained as 9.35 S cm–1, which is nearly 263 times more compared to the pristine PEDOT:PSS film. The conductivity of the film also depends upon the treating temperature. Therefore, the effect of different treating temperatures on the conductivity enhancement is studied, and the optimum temperature is found to be 140°C. Maleic acid-treated PEDOT:PSS films also exhibit high transmittances, i.e., ≈ 90 – 84 % in the visible region. The mechanism related to the conductivity enhancement and other related information are collected through different spectroscopic and microscopic measurements. Besides, frequency-dependant impedance and electrochemical activity of maleic acid-treated PEDOT:PSS films are also performed. The interaction of maleic acid with PEDOT:PSS promotes the reduction of ionic interaction between PEDOT and PSS chains, resulting in the phase separation between PEDOT and PSS. As a result, the PSS– turn into neutral PSSH and is rinsed away by water, which supports the morphological change and the conductivity enhancement due to the conformational change of coil-like PEDOTs to elongated and better-connected PEDOT chains.

Enhanced Microstructural Uniformity in Sulfuric-Acid-Treated Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene):Poly(Styrene Sulfonate) Films Using Raman Map Analysis.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films have emerged as potential alternatives to indium-tin oxide as transparent electrodes in optoelectronic devices because of their superior transparency, flexibility, and chemical doping stability. However, pristine PEDOT:PSS films show low conductivities because the insulating PSS-rich domains isolate the conductive PEDOT-rich domains. In this study, the conductivities and corresponding spatially resolved Raman properties of PEDOT:PSS thin films treated with various concentrations of H2SO4 are presented. After the PEDOT:PSS films are treated with the H2SO4 solutions, their electrical conductivities are significantly improved from 0.5 (nontreated) to 4358 S cm-1 (100% v/v). Raman heat maps of the peak shifts and widths of the Cα═Cβ stretching mode are constructed. A blueshift and width decrease of the Cα═Cβ Raman mode in PEDOT are uniformly observed in the entire measurement area (20 × 20 µm2), indicating that microstructural transitions are successfully accomplished across the area from the coiled to linear conformation and high crystallinity upon H2SO4 treatment. Thus, it is proved that comprehensive Raman map analysis can be easily utilized to clarify microstructural properties distributed in large areas induced by various dopants. These results also offer valuable insights for evaluating and optimizing the performance of other conductive thin films.

Modification of PEDOT:PSS thin film properties using pyridine-based solid additive for optoelectronic applications

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is one of the most promising hole transport layers that is widely used in high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, the hygroscopic nature and acidity of PEDOT:PSS is known to cause degradation in devices and decrease their performance. In this study, a new pyridine solid additive, 2,3-dihydropyridine (2,3-DHP) was incorporated into the PEDOT:PSS solution to improve its characteristics. A low-temperature solution-based spin-coating device was utilized to produce the thin films. From the results, the PEDOT:PSS@2,3-DHP (1 wt%) exhibited excellent optical characteristics. It also provided informative and controlled morphology when it was annealed at 100 °C, suggesting that PEDOT:PSS@2,3-DHP has a potential advantage in photovoltaic (PV) devices. Moreover, in the photodetection experiment utilizing LED of 380 nm, PEDOT:PSS@2,3-DHP showed a higher photocurrent response when compared with pristine PEDOT:PSS. It also significantly reduced sheet resistance and achieved superior electrical conductivity. Interaction between the 2,3-DHP, PEDOT, and PSS chains altered the mechanical properties of the PEDOT:PSS, leading to the modification in structural and electrical characteristics. Overall, these findings highlight the importance and applicability of PEDOT:PSS@2,3-DHP in a wide range of optoelectronic devices.

Micro‐scale, In‐plane Thermal Conductivity of PEDOT:PSS Thin Films Measured by a Suspended Membrane Device

The in‐plane thermal conductivity of ultra‐thin films is of high interest due to its role in many technological applications, while being very challenging to measure. The challenge lies in creating a heat flow laterally through the thin sample film while eliminating all heat losses to the substrate and the surrounding air. A technique involving two parallel, line‐shaped resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) as a pair of heater and sensor on a nanometer‐thin suspended membrane, which minimizes heat losses to the substrate, has been recently introduced and numerically modeled. Herein, measurements employing two parallel line RTDs on a (164 ± 3) nm thin silicon nitride (SiNx) membrane for characterization of heat flux in electrically conductive polymer films are presented. On top of heater and RTD, silicon dioxide (SiO2) is used as a electrical passivation layer. (118 ± 35) nm poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) thin films are characterized. The methodology to enable these measurements starting from the fabrication of the devices using photolithography and chemical wet etching and the assembly of the high vacuum setup for precise measurements are discussed. Thermal conductivities of 2.9 ± 0.2 W m−1 K−1, 0.6 ± 0.2 W m−1 K−1, and 0.4 ± 0.8 W m−1 K−1 are measured for the SiNx, SiO2 and PEDOT:PSS thin films, respectively. Our findings can facilitate this flexible measurement method to other material systems.

Thermoelectric Properties of Spray Coated n-Type PEDOT:PSS Film

Inorganic thermoelectric (TE) materials have gained significant attention because of their salient properties. However, they possess some significant drawbacks, including high production costs, high heat loss, and fragility. Recently, Organic conducting polymers presented a promising platform as an alternative TE material because of their great mechanical flexibility, high stretchability, and environmental friendliness. In this work, we report for the first time on the TE properties of n-PEDOT:PSS film prepared using spray coating technique. The structural, optical and TE properties of the obtained n-PEDOT:PSS thin film was investigated using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy and Seebeck coefficient measurement systems, respectively. The n-PEDOT:PSS layer showed excellent optical properties with a band gap ranges from 3.91 to 3.78. In addition, the Seebeck coefficient and power factor (PF) were obtained to be 1096.77 µVK-1 and 298.59 µWm-1K-2 respectively, making n-PEDOT:P PSS to be regarded as efficient TE material.

Effect of Sn nanoparticles on the optical properties of PEDOT:PSS thin films

Introduction: In this study, we focus on enhancing the optical properties of PEDOT:PSS thin films by incorporating pure Sn nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized using the ultrasonic ablation technique. The objective is to investigate the impact of Sn concentration on the optical characteristics of the films, with a specific emphasis on applications in organic solar cells.Methods: We systematically varied the concentrations of Sn in PEDOT:PSS thin films and characterized their optical properties. The index of refraction (n) and extinction coefficient (k) were precisely determined by analyzing the transmission and reflection spectra of the films. Additionally, Sellmeier’s dispersal model was employed to elucidate the obtained results of n, and dispersive factors were calculated and interpreted.Results: The incorporation of Sn nanoparticles led to improvements in the energy bandgap (Eg) values of PEDOT:PSS films. Notably, as the concentration of Sn increased, the n values decreased, indicating enhanced suitability for organic solar cell applications. The study also unveiled a decrease in the dielectric constant of PEDOT:PSS/Sn films with increasing Sn content, resulting in improved transmittance velocity and enhanced efficacy of microelectronic devices. This, in turn, promotes the development of large-frequency and large-velocity stretchy circuit boards.Discussion: The comprehensive assessment of optical and dielectric parameters, including complex dielectric constant, complex optical conductance, and nonlinear optical constants, provides valuable insights into the potential applications of PEDOT:PSS/Sn films. The larger nonlinear optical constants observed in the present films suggest their suitability for diverse applications such as all-optical switching, limiting, phase modulation, and frequency conversion. Overall, our findings highlight the promising potential of Sn-incorporated PEDOT:PSS thin films in advancing the field of optoelectronics and microelectronics.

Integrative role of PEDOT: PSS in adjusting the photoresponse efficiency of novel reduced graphene quantum dots/silicon heterojunction for optoelectronics and solar energy conversion applications

The urgent need to realize high-efficiency solar cells and photodetectors for commercially available production, considering the cheap price of their preparation, inspired us to apply quantization technology to graphene particles. Therefore, we reported here for the first time manipulating and boosting the photoelectrical performance of the designed rGO-QDs/p-Si heterojunction using PEDOT:PSS interlayer. The structural properties of the employed rGO-QDs (average size ∼ 2 nm) and PEDOT:PSS thin films have been investigated individually using XRD, Raman, and TEM, while the optical properties have been spectrophotometrically inspected. The values of the energy gap and dispersion parameters of each film have been estimated. Toward exploiting the prepared devices in solar cell applications, after analysis of the measured electrical properties, we concluded that the presence of the PEDOT:PSS layer between the two layers of the device led to a significant improvement in the photovoltaic characteristics with Voc ∼ 0.807 Vs, Jsc ∼ 25.76 mA/cm2, FF ∼ 42.49 %, and PCE ∼ 8.83 %. In addition, on the scale of photodetection capability, the PEDOT:PSS modified device achieved outstanding performance with high responsivity (0.84 A/W), external quantum efficiency (196 %), detectivity (1.62 × 1011 cm.Hz0.5/W) and fast on/off switching behavior of 23/15.2 ms as rise/fall time. Such findings reveal an original indirect scenario about the superior photovoltaic and photodetection behavior of the implemented devices suggesting them strongly for efficient optoelectronics and solar cell applications.

The role of substrates and electrodes in inkjet-printed PEDOT:PSS thermoelectric generators

.Conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of inkjet-printed PEDOT:PSS thin films were found to depend on the substrate (polyimide, silicon oxide, glass) and electrode (e-beam evaporated vs. inkjet-printed). The printing direction was also found to strongly impact the thermoelectric power factor.

The effect of zinc and sodium borate doping on the structural, morphological, optical, electrical and electrochemical properties of PEDOT:PSS thin film electrodes for flexible and transparent supercapacitor applications

In this study, for the first time, we propose new electrode materials for transparent and flexible supercapacitors by doping sodium borate (NaB) and zinc borate (ZnB) to poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS).

Surface Functionalization with (3-Glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GOPS) as an Alternative to Blending for Enhancing the Aqueous Stability and Electronic Performance of PEDOT:PSS Thin Films.

Organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors, such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), are essential materials for the fabrication of bioelectronic devices due to their unique ability to couple and transport ionic and electronic charges. The growing interest in bioelectronic devices has led to the development of organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) that can operate in aqueous solutions and transduce ionic signals of biological origin into measurable electronic signals. A common challenge with OECTs is maintaining the stability and performance of the PEDOT:PSS films operating under aqueous conditions. Although the conventional approach of blending the PEDOT:PSS dispersions with a cross-linker such as (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GOPS) helps to ensure strong adhesion of the films to device substrates, it also impacts the morphology and thus electrical properties of the PEDOT:PSS films, which leads to a significant reduction in the performance of OECTs. In this study, we instead functionalize only the surface of the device substrates with GOPS to introduce a silane monolayer before spin-coating the PEDOT:PSS dispersion on the substrate. In all cases, having a GOPS monolayer instead of a blend leads to increased electronic performance metrics, such as three times higher electronic conductivity, volumetric capacitance, and mobility-capacitance product [μC*] value in OECT devices, ultimately leading to a record value of 406 ± 39 F cm-1 V-1 s-1 for amorphous PEDOT:PSS. This increased performance does not come at the expense of operational stability, as both the blend and surface functionalization show similar performance when subjected to pulsed gate bias stress, long-term electrochemical cycling tests, and aging over 150 days. Overall, this study establishes a novel approach to using GOPS as a surface monolayer instead of a blended cross-linker, for achieving high-performance organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors that are stable in water for bioelectronics.

Organic-inorganic p-type PEDOT:PSS/CuO/MoS2 photocathode with in-built antipodal photogenerated holes and electrons transfer pathways for efficient solar-driven photoelectrochemical water splitting

Organic PEDOT:PSS thin film and n-type MoS2 flakes were incorporated on CuO photocathode as the underlying layer and surface co-catalysts, respectively, establishing a rationally-designed novel integrated structure of PEDOT:PSS/CuO/MoS2. The organic-inorganic interface of PEDOT:PSS/CuO effectively shuttles photogenerated holes towards the FTO/PEDOT:PSS junction. Furthermore, the surface MoS2 co-catalysts form a p-n junction with CuO, which accelerates the transport of photogenerated electrons towards the photocathode/electrolyte junction, in addition to providing more reactive sites for the H2 evolution reaction. These synergistically formed antipodal charge transfer pathways have led to improved charge separation, rapid interfacial charge transfer kinetics and impeded electron-hole recombination in the PEDOT:PSS/CuO/MoS2 photocathode, which can achieve a photocurrent density of – 2.26 mA/cm2 at −0.6 V vs Ag/AgCl (2.1 times higher than that of the bare CuO photocathode). Analytical characterisations, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS), also provide supporting evidence for its dramatically enhanced PEC water splitting performance.

Two-step surface treatment of femtosecond laser irradiation and ionic liquid to enhance thermoelectric properties of PEDOT:PSS films

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has garnered significant considerable interest in the field of flexible thermoelectric films owing to its very low thermal conductivity, highly adjustable electrical conductivity (σ) and Seebeck coefficient (S). However, improving the σ and S of PEDOT:PSS simultaneously remains challenging for achieving efficient thermoelectrics. In this paper, we proposed a two-step process involving femtosecond laser irradiation and ionic liquid (IL) 1-Ethyl-3-MethylImidazolium DiCyAmide treatment to enhance the thermoelectric properties of PEDOT: PSS thin films. This finding revealed that the increase in PEDOT: PSS conductivity was attributed to both laser irradiation and the post-treatment with IL, in which the former enabled the efficient elimination of insulating PSS from the surface of the conductive polymer, the latter further contributed to the decoupling of PEDOT and PSS. The enhanced Seebeck coefficient was due to the ion exchange resulting from IL post-processing, which regulated the PEDOT doping level. By employing laser irradiation and surface treatment with IL, the modified PEDOT:PSS films showed a S of 20.63 μV·K−1, a σ of 960.7 S·cm−1, and a power factor (PF) of 40.89 μW·m−1·K−2. Furthermore, a thermoelectric device was developed which can generate a voltage of 0.8 mV at a temperature difference of 11.7 K.

Structure Influence of Amine-Containing Additives on the Solution State and Out-of-Plane Conductivity of PEDOT:PSS for Efficient Organic Solar Cells.

Additives are extensively explored for improving PEDOT:PSS performances mainly through the removal of excess PSS and as a secondary dopant. In this work, amine-containing additives are introduced to PEDOT:PSS solutions as processing additives where the interactions to the PSS are anticipated through electrostatic interactions. Such interactions affected solution property where the increased viscosity is found to significantly increase the out-of-plane conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS thin films. Organic solar cells adopting these additive-assisted processed PEDOT:PSS layers as hole transporting layers (HTL) showed the improved device performances that resulted from the reduced series resistance provided by the PEDOT:PSS HTL. A top power conversion efficiency of 18.28% is achieved with para-phenylenediamine (PPD) additive in the PEDOT:PSS HTL, which is 3.5% higher compared to devices with neat PEDOT:PSS thin film as the HTL.

Effect of Au@MoS2 Contacted PEDOT:PSS on Work Function of Planar Silicon Hybrid Solar Cells

AbstractSolar cells formed by spin‐coating organic absorber layers on silicon have attracted widespread attention due to their simple processes and high photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE). In typical organic/Si solar cells, however, surface defects or unsatisfactory carrier separation are inadequate to yield excellent device performance. Here, the Au@MoS2 nanocomposites are well synthesized and doped into the organic layer of poly (3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) to improve its work function and the performance of PEDOT:PSS/Si HSCs consequently. By optimizing the doping level of Au@MoS2, the PCE significantly improved from 11.48% to 14.0% by tuning the work function of the PEDOT:PSS layer to more appropriate values. The calculated results based on the Mott–Schottky model indicate that the built‐in field in the PEDOT:PSS/Si interface of HSCs is significantly enhanced due to the increase of work function by the PEDOT:PSS thin films. The enhancement of the built‐in field results in the reduction of the electron–hole recombination loss effectively. The work provides a feasible method for preparing high‐performance PEDOT:PSS/Si HSCs.

Influence of Effective Mass on Carrier Concentration for PEDOT:PSS and S-PEDOT Thin Films Studied by Ellipsometry and Hall Measurement

Influence of Effective Mass on Carrier Concentration for PEDOT:PSS and S-PEDOT Thin Films Studied by Ellipsometry and Hall Measurement

Synthesis of PEDOT: PSS thin film doped with silver nanoparticles via green approach and study their refractive indices and dispersive parameters using Wemple–DiDomenico (WDD) single oscillator model

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesised via green synthesis using clove extract were incorporated into PEDOT:PSS polymers using the chemical solution deposition technique (CSD), and the effect of surface plasmon resonance in the nanocomposites was investigated. To assess the effect of Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) (and surface plasmon resonance) on the polymer, TEM, UV–Visible spectroscopy, FTIR, Ellipsometry, and Photoluminescence are used. The surface plasmon peak of the curves in UV–Vis spectroscopy study of these films has shifted towards the infrared region, which may be useful in increasing the efficiency of optical devices. The optical band gap calculated using UV–Vis results reduced from 1.77eV for pure PEDOT: PSS to 1.53eV for the nanocomposite. Ellipsometry data is used to calculate Ψ, Δ values and thickness of films. The Wemple-DiDomenico (WDD) single oscillator model was used to analyse and estimate the dispersion parameters of these films. Refractive indices the films were calculated in the range 1.256–1.643 using the Ellipsometry data.

Effect of WS2 nanoparticles on the current-voltage characteristics of a polymer solar cell

The paper presents the results of studies of the effect of tungsten disulfide nanoparticles on the optical and electrotransport characteristics of PEDOT: PSS thin films in polymer solar cells. Tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanoparticles were obtained by laser ablation in isopropyl alcohol. The average size of nanoparticles were determined by dynamic light scattering and is ~38 nm. The concentration of WS2 nanoparticles in the solution was calculated based on the density of the WS2 substance. The absorption spectrum of nanoparticles in isopropyl alcohol has been measured. Two bands are observed in 500-900 nm regions, which are associated with direct exciton transitions A1 and B1 in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides with 2H phase. WS2 nanoparticles were added in PEDOT: PSS solution and thin films were deposited from the preparedsolution by spin-coating. PEDOT: PSS thin films doped with WS2 were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The arithmetic mean deviation of the surface roughness (Ra) was estimated. Doping with WS2 nanoparticles leads to the increase in Ra of PEDOT: PSS thin films. The optical absorption spectra of doped films have been measured. Also, doping PEDOT: PSS with WS2 nanoparticles results in a long-wavelength shift of the PEDOT absorption maximum. The optimal concentration of WS2 nanoparticles for the preparation of doped PEDOT: PSS thin films is determined, at which the film resistance decreases by almost 2 times, the recombination resistance of charge carriers increases by 4.7 times, and the efficiency of the polymer solar cell increases to 1.94 %.

Organic Thermoelectric Nanocomposites Assembled via Spraying Layer-by-Layer Method

Thermoelectric (TE) materials have been considered as a promising energy harvesting technology for sustainably providing power to electronic devices. In particular, organic-based TE materials that consist of conducting polymers and carbon nanofillers make a large variety of applications. In this work, we develop organic TE nanocomposites via successive spraying of intrinsically conductive polymers such as polyaniline (PANi) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy- thiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and carbon nanofillers, and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT). It is found that the growth rate of the layer-by-layer (LbL) thin films, which comprise a PANi/SWNT-PEDOT:PSS repeating sequence, made by the spraying method is greater than that of the same ones assembled by traditional dip coating. The surface structure of multilayer thin films constructed by the spraying approach show excellent coverage of highly networked individual and bundled SWNT, which is similarly to what is observed when carbon nanotubes-based LbL assemblies are formed by classic dipping. The multilayer thin films via the spray-assisted LbL process exhibit significantly improved TE performances. A 20-bilayer PANi/SWNT-PEDOT:PSS thin film (~90 nm thick) yields an electrical conductivity of 14.3 S/cm and Seebeck coefficient of 76 μV/K. These two values translate to a power factor of 8.2 μW/m·K2, which is 9 times as large as the same films fabricated by a classic immersion process. We believe that this LbL spraying method will open up many opportunities in developing multifunctional thin films for large-scaled industrial use due to rapid processing and the ease with which it is applied.

Photoelectron Spectroscopy Reveals the Impact of Solvent Additives on Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) Thin Film Formation.

The conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is used in a manifold of electronic applications, and controlling its conductivity is often the key to attain a superior device performance. To that end, solvent additives like Triton, ethylene glycol (EG), or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) are regularly incorporated. In our comprehensive study, we prepare PEDOT:PSS thin films with seven different additive combinations and with thicknesses ranging from 6 to 300 nm on indium-tin-oxide (ITO) substrates. We utilize X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to access the PSS-to-PEDOT ratio and the PSS--to-PSSH ratio in the near-surface region and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) to get the work function (WF). In addition, the morphology and conductivity of these samples are obtained. We found that the WF of the prepared thin films for each combination becomes saturated at a thickness of around 50 nm and thinner films show a lower WF due to the inferior coverage on the ITO. Furthermore, the WF shows a better correlation with the PSS--to-PSSH ratio than the commonly used PSS-to-PEDOT ratio as PSS- can directly affect the surface dipole. By adding solvent additives, a dramatic increase in the conductivity is observed for all PEDOT:PSS films, especially when DMSO is involved. Moreover, adding the additive Triton (surfactant) helps to suppress the WF fluctuation for most films of each additive combination and contributes to weaken the surface dipole, eventually leading to a lower and thickness-independent WF.

Enhanced responsivity of Zr-doped BiFeO3 based self-powered UV–visible heterojunction photodetector fabricated via spray pyrolysis technique

Herein, we report enhanced responsivity of Zr-substituted BiFeO3 thin film fabricated through spray pyrolysis technique in ultraviolet & visible region of the solar spectrum. Optimum substitution of Zr4+ ions at Fe site reduced the oxygen vacancies and optical bandgap from 2.3 eV to ∼2.08 eV. Both X-ray Diffraction and Raman results confirm that BiFe1-xZrxO3 (x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.10) films belong to rhombohedral phase. Besides, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Electron paramagnetic resonance analysis confirms optimum substitution of Zr4+ ions reduce the leakage current and enhance the remnant polarization. The AZO/BiFe1-xZrxO3 (x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.10) interface junction confines the optical absorption within the ferroelectric layer, expands the space charge region and reduces charge carrier recombination. The PEDOT: PSS thin film deposited upon photoactive ferroelectric layer facilitates hole transport. The achieved maximum responsivity, detectivity, and response time of the AZO/BiFe0.95Zr0.05O3/PEDOT: PSS device for 365 nm (50 μW/cm2) light is 18 mA/W, 8.72 × 1010 Jones, and ∼0.2 s. The device responsivity for 100 mW/cm2 white light is 0.14 mA/W; and LEDs (10 mW/cm2) of wavelengths of 405 and 450 nm are 2.38 mA/W and 0.67 mA/W, respectively. This work confirms that optimum Zr substitution at Fe-site enhances the optoelectronic properties of BiFeO3 based UV–vis self-powered photodetector heterojunction.