PREPARED BY: NUUR FARRAH SYAHIRAH BINTI MUHAMAD

DUZUHRI
STUDENT ID: 2017421896
 INTRODUCTION
 To study the thermal aging of the electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS thin films and correlate this with the morphological,
composition and electronic structure changes occurring during the thermal degradation.

 METHODS
 MATERIALS
 50 nm PEDOT:PSS films coated on pristine plastic substrates (PET)
 An aqueous dispersion of PEDOT:PSS (CLEVIOS PH 500, H.C. Starck)
 Ratio PEDOT-to-PSS is 1:2.5 by weight
 CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENTS
 Temperature dependence d.c conductivity measurements σ = σ(T) performed using a four-probe method.
 For the temperature dependent studies a He filled cryostat was used.
 Samples from the same PEDOT:PSS film were thermally treated at 120 °C in a thermostated oven under environmental
conditions for different times. The 0 h time includes only the annealing step during the preparation process 20 min.
 The conductivity versus temperature was then measured after the heat treatment at every time. These successive
measurements give a set of σ = σ(T) curves and the whole procedure is repeated until saturation in conductivity is
observed.

 X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON AND UV PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPIES

 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used
 To investigate the variation in the chemical structures of the sample surface of the PEDOT:PSS films before and
after the thermal degradation
 Carried out with a non-monochromatic Mg Kα line at 1253.6 eV and a constant analyzer pass energy of 36 eV

 Ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS)

 To study the variation of the PEDOT:PSS valence band
 The HeI (21.22 eV) radiation was used. The spectrometer was calibrated by the Au4f7/2 core level (84.00 ± 0.05 eV)
for a clean Au foil
 INTRODUCTION
 Noting that electrical properties of conducting polymers are strongly dependent on their film morphology and chemical and
physical structure, we can expect that each of these potentially advantageous features of the PEDOT/PSS interlayer will
vary with process conditions, including post-deposition thermal treatment (needed to remove water).
 A study of the influence of the treatment atmosphere, treatment temperature and time on the conductivity and morphology
of PEDOT/PSS films.

 METHODS
 The films were spin-coated in air onto patterned Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO) substrates from this dispersion after filtration with a
0.45 μm syringe filter.
 The typical film thickness obtained at 2000 rpm was 50 nm.
 The films were subsequently heated on a hot plate at a temperature between 100 and 250 °C for different times in either
air or N2 (glove box atmosphere).
 The surface morphology of the films was measured in air with an atomic force microscope (AFM).
 RESULTS
 Demonstrate the difference in properties that results from performing the thermal treatment in air or a N 2 atmosphere.
 One reason for considering this difference is that PEDOT/PSS is hygroscopic such that after treatment in air the thermal
changes may not prove stable against the rapid uptake of moisture from the ai
 PEDOT/PSS films are very stable: they can be treated for up to 1000 hours at 100 °C with no change in conductivity
 O2 molecules in the air have no negative effect on the conductivity of PEDOT/PSS films below 100 °C
 Irreversible structural changes occur in the PEDOT main chain after 48 h in air at 150 °C (because of heat and moisture)
( Winter, C. Reese, J. Hormes, G. Heywang, F. Jonas Chem. Phys., 194 (1995), p. 207)
 The difference between treatment in air and N2 is thus attributable to the influence of oxygen and moisture above 100 °C and
absorbed water below 100 °C
 For the film treated in air, the continuous decrease in conductivity after the film had cooled to room temperature is controlled
by water uptake from the air
 The conductivity of the film treated at 250 °C is slightly lower than that at 200 °C but the decrease is not very significant
 The alignment of molecules in the film often changes with temperature.
 Heat may also effect the colloidal particle interactions in the PEDOT/PSS composite
 At a suitable temperature, the number and/or height of the barriers may be reduced by coalescence of PEDOT/PSS particles,
e.g. by softening/melting of PSS. This can lead to the polymer chains adopting a more crystalline structure
 Heating PEDOT (without PSS) up to 200 °C increases the crystalline order. However, if the temperature is too high, for
example, above 250 °C, degradation of the materials can become a problem causing the conductivity to decrease
(K.E. Aasmundtveit, E.J. Samuelsen, L.A.A. Pettersson, O. Inganäs, T. Johansson, R. Feidenhans’l Synth. Met., 101 (1999),
p. 561)
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