Aqueous dispersions of conducting polymers for opto-electronic applications

In this work different aqueous dispersions of conducting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) :polyelectrolyte (PEDOT:polyelectrolyte) complexes,made from anionic polysaccharides and from synthetic bis(sulfonylimide) substituted polystyrenes, have been synthesized and characterized regarding their doping, morphology, rheological behavior and opto-electronic properties. A systematic study revealed, that high molar mass polyelectrolytes with strongly acidic groups and a rigid backbone structure were favorable for a high doping and an efficient dispersion of PEDOT and allowed the development of highly conducting PEDOT:polyelectrolyte complexes. The use of the polyelectrolyte poly(4-styrenetrifluoromethane(bissulfonylimide)) (PSTFSI) as complexing agent for PEDOT resultedin stable dispersions with gel character, which allowed easy processing by spin coating and doctor blading. The obtained PEDOT:PSTFSI films were highly transparent,displayed a conductivity of up to 330S.cm-1 and were successfully integrated as electrodes in OLED, OPV and OECT devices.