Proceedings of the
World Congress on Micro and Nano Manufacturing (WCMNM 2022 )
19–22 September 2022, Lueven, Belgium
doi:10.3850/978-981-18-5180-3_RP62-0013
Enhancing Electrical Conductivity of Flexible PEDOT:PSS Film by Intense Pulsed Light Irradiation
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
ABSTRACT
There is a growing demand for flexible, stretchable and transparent conductive films that can be used as electrodes or active layers in optoelectronic products, wearables, solar cells, solid electrolyte capacitors, sensors and actuators. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is a suitable material for flexible electrodes because of its high electrical conductivity and transparency. However, it requires increasing the electrical conductivity for the aforementioned applications. In this study, the performance of PEDOT:PSS as flexible electrodes is investigated. A photonic thermal treatment is used to improve the electrical conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS films. An intense pulsed light (IPL) system with tunable voltage and pulse duration is used to evaporate the residual water from the PEDOT samples after drying and remove the PSS-rich shell, leading to higher electrical conductivity. The results show that the electrical conductivity of the film is noticeably improved after the IPL irradiation. The electrical conductivity increases with respect to an increase in the IPL voltage and number of pulses. However, the polymer film would deform when either the voltage or number of pulses exceeds the threshold. The IPL treated PEDOT:PSS samples have an electrical conductivity of 15773 S/m, which is approximately 425 times greater than the untreated samples.
Keywords: Flexible Electrodes, Intense Pulsed Light, Electrical Conductivity, PEDOT:PSS
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
ABSTRACT
There is a growing demand for flexible, stretchable and transparent conductive films that can be used as electrodes or active layers in optoelectronic products, wearables, solar cells, solid electrolyte capacitors, sensors and actuators. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is a suitable material for flexible electrodes because of its high electrical conductivity and transparency. However, it requires increasing the electrical conductivity for the aforementioned applications. In this study, the performance of PEDOT:PSS as flexible electrodes is investigated. A photonic thermal treatment is used to improve the electrical conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS films. An intense pulsed light (IPL) system with tunable voltage and pulse duration is used to evaporate the residual water from the PEDOT samples after drying and remove the PSS-rich shell, leading to higher electrical conductivity. The results show that the electrical conductivity of the film is noticeably improved after the IPL irradiation. The electrical conductivity increases with respect to an increase in the IPL voltage and number of pulses. However, the polymer film would deform when either the voltage or number of pulses exceeds the threshold. The IPL treated PEDOT:PSS samples have an electrical conductivity of 15773 S/m, which is approximately 425 times greater than the untreated samples.
Keywords: Flexible Electrodes, Intense Pulsed Light, Electrical Conductivity, PEDOT:PSS
