An Alternative Anionic Polyelectrolyte for Aqueous PEDOT Dispersions: Towards Printable Transparent Electrodes

Organic conducting polymers are promising electrode materials for printable organic electronics. One of the most studied conducting polymers is PEDOT:PSS which is sufficiently conductive and transparent, but which shows some drawbacks, such as hygroscopy and acidity. In this communication we present a new approach to stabilize PEDOT in aqueous dispersions by replacing the PSS with a new basic polyanion based on a polystyrene backbone with (trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (TSFI) side groups. The PEDOT:PSTFSIK dispersions were obtained by oxidative polymerization of EDOT in aqueous PSTFSIK solution and were characterized regarding their composition, morphology, doping, rheological behavior and opto-electronic performance. These PEDOT:PSTFSIK dispersions show excellent printability and good opto-electronic performance (238Ohm.sq-1 at 91% transmittance, >260S.cm-1) and were successfully integrated as flexible electrodes in OLED and OPV devices.