Preparation and characterization of CuI/PVA–PEDOT:PSS core–shell for photovoltaic application

In the present paper nano polymer composite of CuI/PVA blended with PEDOT:PSS has been prepared by growing CuI nano particles inside aqueous solution of PVA. The XRD characterization illustrated the growth of CuI nano crystals of 22–33 nm. The optical absorption showed direct transition with an energy band gap equals to 1.18 eV and 1.3 eV for colloidal and thin solid films respectively. The PL investigation illustrates a quenching with increasing PEDDOT:PSS concentration. The results are interpreted according to energy confinement enhanced by plasmon–exciton interaction of CuI–PVA/PEDOT:PSS core–shell. The frequency dependence of conductivity suggested hopping conduction where the bulk conductivity is thermally activated with an activation energy in the range varies from 0.07 to 0.46 eV by increasing PEDOT:PSS concentration. The cyclic voltammetry measurements have been performed to ascertain the position of both HOMO and LUMO levels which illustrated a movement of HOMO level toward vacuum level, with a decrease in the chemical band gap from 1.72 to 1.3 eV with increasing PEDOT:PSS concentration.     

Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide on the electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS/n-Si heterojunction diodes

Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on the electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS/n-Si heterojunction diodes has been studied. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was deposited on n-type Si wafer using facile process of spin coating. The DMSO content was varied from 0 to 8 vol%. Electrical characterization of these heterojunction diodes as performed using both current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements. All diodes showed rectifying behavior. AFM measurement revealed that the surface became more rough after the DMSO treatment of PEDOT:PSS films. The RMS values were found in the range of 4–6 nm. The resistivity of the PEDOT:PSS films decreased with increase in temperature. The addition of DMSO into PEDOT:PSS solution results in a decrease in resistivity of films by approximately two orders of magnitude. PEDOT:PSS films showed high transmission more than 85% in the entire visible region. Raman spectroscopy indicated effect of the DMSO treatment on the chemical structure of PEDOT chains, suggesting a conformational change of PEDOT chain in the film. An optimal value of DMSO was obtained with 5 vol% content, and it showed the best PEDOT:PSS films properties and good quality heterojunction diodes characteristics with ideality factor of 2.4 and barrier height 0.80 eV.     

阳极缓冲层修饰对聚合物太阳能电池性能的影响

为提高聚合物太阳能电池的能量转换效率,将聚乙二醇(PEG)掺入PEDOT∶PSS阳极缓冲层,研究了阳极缓冲层修饰对聚合物太阳能电池性能的影响。首先研究了聚乙二醇对PEDOT∶PSS薄膜电导率的影响,发现PEG会与PEDOT和PSS相互作用,使得PEDOT链重新排布,有利于电荷载流子的传输,从而显著改善了PEDOT∶PSS薄膜的电导率,当PEDOT∶PSS中掺入体积分数为2%~4%的PEG时,可得到较大的电导率。然后,以PEG修饰的PEDOT∶PSS薄膜作为阳极缓冲层制备了聚合物太阳能电池,研究了PEG的掺入对聚合物太阳能电池性能的影响。实验发现,PEG改善的PEDOT∶PSS电导率有利于提高电池的短路电流密度和填充因子,从而改善了器件光伏性能。当PEDOT∶PSS中掺入体积分数为2%的PEG时,聚合物太阳能电池的能量转换效率最高,比未掺杂的器件提高了24.4%。     

Poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene): Poly(styrene sulfonate)的共振拉曼光谱研究

通过拉曼光谱方法分别对PEDOT:PSS掺杂和去掺杂状态进行了详细分析. 实验结果表明, 去掺杂的PEDOT:PSS由于其在激发波长附近的吸收增强而引起了共振效应, 拉曼信号得到大幅度增强, 可见, 以633 nm(He-Ne)激光为激发波长的拉曼光谱是研究PEDOT:PSS掺杂状态的有效方法. 此外, 显微拉曼光谱也是分析聚合物发光二极管器件内各层材料的有效手段.     

Highly efficient solar-heat shield based on the bipolaron-assisted PEDOT:PSS thin film

We report on an efficient solar-heat shield based on the highly transparent PEDOT:PSS thin film, which significantly reduces the temperature from 38.2 ̊C to 33.5 ̊C. To understand the superior solar-heat shielding ability, the modified PEDOT:PSS thin films were investigated by using the transmittance spectra, Raman scattering spectra, atomic-force microscopic (AFM) images and broadband refractive index spectra. The experimental results show that the molecular structure of the PEDOT chains can be manipulated by varying the Brownian motion of PEDOT polymers in the PEDOT:PSS solutions and the spin rate. The lower Brownian motion of PEDOT polymers and the higher spin rate both can change the molecular structure of the PEDOT chains from bended structures (de-doping states) to linear structures (doping states), which simultaneously increase the near-infrared absorption strength and the visible transparency due to the formation of bipolarons.     

Modulating the Electrochromic Performances of Transmissive and Reflective Devices Using N,N-Dimethyl Formamide Modified Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene)/Poly(Styrene Sulfonate) Blend as Active Layers

As one of the important factors which affect the properties and applications of conducting polymers, the electrical conductivity of a poly(3,4-ethylenedoxy-thiophene)/ poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) blend was adjusted by using various amount of an organic solvent (N,N-dimethyl formamide, DMF) as an additive. The conductivities of PEDOT: PSS thin films can be increased dramatically, from 1.0 S to 32.1 S cm^?1, with a 2/1 volume ratio of PEDOT: PSS/DMF loading after totally removing the organic solvent by annealing the film at 80° for 48 h in a vacuum oven. The optical contrasts of transmissive and reflective devices assembled using DMF-modified PEDOT: PSS as active layers exhibited a close relationship with the conductivity of PEDOT: PSS. Interestingly, high conductivity of PEDOT: PSS enhanced the contrast of a transmissive device, while high conductivity of PEDOT: PSS decreased the contrasts of a reflective device. The underlying reason is related to the different electrochromic mechanisms of these two types of device configurations.     

Metal-electrode-free inverted organic photovoltaics using electrospray-deposited PEDOT:PSS and spin-coated HAT-CN exciton blocking layer

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films were fabricated using an electrospray deposition (ESD) method. The ESD PEDOT:PSS films exhibited higher PSS content on the surface than spin-coated PEDOT:PSS films, which results in a higher work function. Based on this result, metal-electrode-free inverted organic photovoltaics (OPVs) were fabricated. The ESD PEDOT:PSS was used as the top electrode on the poly(3-hexythiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT):[6,6]-phenyl C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) light-absorbing layer. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of OPVs was significantly increased with the 1,4,5,8,9,11-hexaazatriphenylene hexacarbonitrile layer. The improved PCE would be attributed to the suppression of exciton quenching at the P3HT:PCBM and PEDOT:PSS interface.     

稀释溶剂对PEDOT：PSS薄膜和有机太阳能电池性能的影响

采用喷涂技术制备聚3,4-乙撑二氧噻吩：聚苯乙烯磺酸盐（PEDOT：PSS）有机层薄膜,系统研究了乙醇、去离子水、甲醇、异丙醇和乙二醇等稀释溶剂对PEDOT：PSS薄膜形貌、透过率及导电性能的影响。将PEDOT：PSS薄膜应用于有机太阳能电池器件的制备,研究了不同溶剂对器件性能的影响。实验结果表明：采用乙醇稀释PEDOT：PSS溶液,能有效抑制PEDOT：PSS颗粒团聚,降低薄膜粗糙度,提高薄膜的透过率和导电性。以其制备的太阳能电池器件的能量转换效率明显高于其他溶剂稀释,转换效率为2.66%。     

In-situ characterization of electrochromism based on ITO/PEDOT:PSS towards preparation of high performance device

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS) is usually sandwiched between indium tin oxide(ITO) and a functional polymer in order to improve the performance of the device. However, because of the strong acidic nature of PEDOT:PSS, the instability of the ITO/PEDOT:PSS interface is also observed. The mechanism of degradation of the device remains is unclear and needs to be further studied. In this article, we investigate the in-situ electrochromism of PEDOT:PSS to disclose the cause of the degradation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) was used to characterize the PEDOT:PSS films, as well as the PEDOT:PSS plus polyethylene glycol(PEG) films with and without indium ions. The electrochromic devices(ECD) based on PEDOT:PSS and PEG with and without indium ions are carried out by in-situ micro-Raman and laser reflective measurement(LRM). For comparison, ECD based on PEDOT:PSS and PEG films with LiCl, KCl, NaCl or InCl_3 are also investigated by LRM. The results show that PEDOT:PSS is further reduced when negatively biased, and oxidized when positively biased. This could identify that PEDOT:PSS with indium ions from PEDOT:PSS etching ITO will lose dopants when negatively biased. The LRM shows that the device with indium ions has a stronger effect on the reduction property of PEDOT:PSS-PEG film than the device without indium ions. The contrast of the former device is 44%, that of the latter device is about 3%. The LRM also shows that the contrasts of the device based on PEDOT:PSS+PEG with LiCl, KCl, NaCl, InCl_3 are 30%, 27%, 15%, and 18%, respectively.     

Enhanced thermoelectric performance of PEDOT: PSS films via ionic liquid post-treatment

Thermoelectric(TE)energy harvesting can effectively convert waste heat into electricity,which is a crucial technology to solve energy concerns.As a promising candidate for energy conversion,poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS)has gained significant attention owing to its easy doping,high transparency,and solution processability.However,the TE performance of PEDOT:PSS still needs to be further enhanced.Herein,different approaches have been applied for tuning the TE properties:(i)direct dipping PEDOT:PSS thin films in ionic liquid;(ii)post-treatment of the films with concentrated sulfuric acid(H₂SO₄),and then dipping in ionic liquid.Besides,the same bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide(TFSI)anion and different cation salts,including 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium(EMIM+)and lithium(Li+),are selected to study the influence of varying cation types on the TE properties of PEDOT:PSS.The Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS film treated with H2SO4EMIM:TFSI increase simultaneously,and the resulting maximum power factor is 46.7μW·m^-1·K^-2,which may be attributed to the ionic liquid facilitating the rearrangement of the molecular chain of PEDOT.The work provides a reference for the development of organic films with high TE properties.     

Structural,morphological and optical properties of PEDOT:PSS/QDs nano-composite films prepared by spin-casting

This paper describes the structural, morphological and optical properties of the nano-composite of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and quantum dots (QDs). The ZnSe and CdSe QDs have been synthesized, with the aid of Mercaptoacetic acid (MAA), by a colloidal method with an average size of ~5 to 7 nm. QDs have been embedded in PEDOT:PSS using a simple solution processing approach and has been deposited as thin films by spin coating technique. The QDs embedded PEDOT:PSS enhances the light absorption spectra of samples, prominently in terms of absorption intensity which may consequently improve sensitivity of the optoelectronic devices.     

Band bending at the conducting polymer/indium tin oxide interfaces with and without ultraviolet treatment

In this study, the effect of ultraviolet treatment on the band bending at the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(4-styrenesulfonate)/indium tin oxide (PEDOT:PSS/ITO) interfaces were researched. The authors suggested that ultraviolet treatment could lead to a reduction in the band bending at the PEDOT:PSS/ITO interface, owing to the removal of carbon contamination at the ITO surfaces and a decrease in the number of the trap-states at the PEDOT:PSS/ITO interface.     

喷墨打印和旋涂法制备有机电致发光显示器件中空穴注入及发光层的比较研究

比较了喷墨印刷和旋涂PEDOT:PSS薄膜的表面性能,发现喷涂PEDOT:PSS薄膜上印有发射层油墨后,其表面性能有很大差异。在喷墨打印PEDOT:PSS膜的表面上只发现了大量的和类山状的聚合物颗粒。进一步的研究表明,形态的差异源于润湿性的不同。揭示了喷墨打印和旋涂对膜性能的不同影响,从而在喷墨打印PEDOT:PSS膜上构建了更精细的结构。     

紫外臭氧处理超薄银修饰ITO电极的高效柔性有机太阳能电池

以紫外臭氧处理超薄Ag复合MoO₃或PEDOT：PSS修饰ITO电极的高效柔性有机太阳能电池。通过优化紫外臭氧处理Ag薄膜的时间,提高了以P3HT：PCBM为有源层的器件的功率转换效率,从1.68%（未经过紫外臭氧处理）提高到2.57%（紫外臭氧处理Ag 1 min）。提高的原因推测是紫外臭氧处理形成了AgO_x薄膜,提高了电荷提取并使器件具有高光学透明度、低串联电阻和优异的表面功函数等一些性能。并且,紫外臭氧处理Ag薄膜与MoO₃或者PEDOT：PSS复合修饰ITO的器件效率分别得到提高,Ag薄膜与MoO₃复合修饰ITO的器件效率从2.02%（PET/ITO/MoO₃）提高到2.97%（PET/ITO/AgO_x/MoO₃）,Ag薄膜与PEDOT：PSS复合修饰ITO的器件效率从2.01%（PET/ITO/PEDOT：PSS）提高到2.93%（PET/ITO/AgO_x/PEDOT：PSS）。此外,以PBDTTT-EFT：PC₇₁BM为有源层的柔性聚合物太阳能电池效率可达6.21%。基于ITO的柔性光电器件效率的提高主要归于ITO被Ag/PEDOT：PSS或Ag/MoO₃修饰后功函数的提高。     

Effect of dispersion degree of orientation on dielectric properties of (100)-oriented PST thin film

(100) Oriented (Pb_xSr_1−x)TiO₃ (PST) thin films were prepared on indium tin oxide coated glass substrates by sol–gel technique with rapid thermal processing. The dielectric permittivity and tunability of the thin films with different dispersion degrees of orientation were investigated in detail by characterizing the full width at half maximum of their (100) peak based on rocking curves at different annealing temperatures. Influence of orientation dispersion on dielectric properties was exhibited in the tunable dielectric thin films. It shows that the dielectric constant and hence the tunability of the sol–gel derived PST thin films are improved with the decrease in the dispersion degree of orientation of the perovskite phase other than the increase in the content of crystalline phase in the thin films. The dielectric constant (capacitance) and figure of merit of the oriented thin films are 3–6 times and 1 times higher than that of randomly oriented thin film respectively.     

Effect of sorbitol doping in PEDOT:PSS on the electrical performance of organic photovoltaic devices

Organic photovoltaic cells have important advantages, such as low cost and mechanical flexibility. The conducting polymer poly(3,4 ethylenedioxy-thiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has been widely used as an interfacial layer or a polymer electrode in polymer electronic devices, such as photovoltaic devices and light-emitting diodes. In this report, we discuss the direct current (DC) conductivity of PEDOT:PSS films containing various weight ratios of sorbitol dopant. The work function is shown to steadily decrease with increasing dopant content. With different dopant contents, illuminated current–voltage photovoltaic characteristics were observed. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) analysis revealed that the work function of the PEDOT:PSS was affected by its sorbitol content. The morphologies of the doped PEDOT:PSS films were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). For the device fabrication, we made organic photovoltaic cells by a spin-coating process and Al deposition by thermal evaporation. The sorbitol dopant is able to improve the efficiency of the device.     

Pulsed laser deposition of perovskite relaxor ferroelectric thin films

Structural, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of thin films of La-doped lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) and sodium bismuth titanate-barium titanate (NBT-BT) perovskite relaxor ferroelectric have been investigated. PLZT films were deposited on Pt/Si substrates in oxygen atmosphere by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and radio frequency (RF) discharge-assisted PLD, using sintered targets with different La content and Zr/Ti ratio, near or at the boundary relaxor ferroelectric. The films are polycrystalline with perovskite cubic or slightly rhombohedral structure. A slim ferroelectric hysteresis loop, typical for relaxors, has been measured for all film sets. Dielectric characterization shows a large value of capacitance tunability and low dielectric loss. However, common problems related to lead diffusion into the metallic electrode layer do not allow one to obtain high capacitance values, due to the formation of an interface layer with low dielectric constant. Lead-free NBT-BT thin films have been deposited on single crystal (1 0 0)-MgO substrates starting from targets with composition at the morphotropic phase boundary between rhombohedral and tetragonal phase. Films deposited by PLD are polycrystalline perovskite with a slight (1 0 0) orientation. Capacitance measurements were performed using interdigital metallic electrodes deposited on the film's top surface and showed high relative dielectric constant, on the order of 1300.     

Optical and electrical properties of plasma-oxidation derived HfO2 gate dielectric films

High-k gate dielectric HfO₂ thin films have been deposited on Si(1 0 0) by using plasma oxidation of sputtered metallic Hf thin films. The optical and electrical properties in relation to postdeposition annealing temperatures are investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics in detail. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement shows that the as-deposited HfO₂ films are basically amorphous. Based on a parameterized Tauc-Lorentz dispersion mode, excellent agreement has been found between the experimental and the simulated spectra, and the optical constants of the as-deposited and annealed films related to the annealing temperature are systematically extracted. Increases in the refractive index n and extinction coefficient k, with increasing annealing temperature are observed due to the formation of more closely packed thin films and the enhancement of scattering effect in the targeted HfO₂ film. Change of the complex dielectric function and reduction of optical band gap with an increase in annealing temperature are discussed. The extracted direct band gap related to the structure varies from 5.77, 5.65, and 5.56 eV for the as-deposited and annealed thin films at 700 and 800 °C, respectively. It has been found from the C-V measurement the decrease of accumulation capacitance values upon annealing, which can be contributed to the growth of the interfacial layer with lower dielectric constant upon postannealing. The flat-band voltage shifts negatively due to positive charge generated during postannealing.     

基于石墨烯/PEDOT：PSS叠层薄膜的柔性OLED器件

石墨烯具有独特的电学性能、优异的机械延展性和良好的化学稳定性,是制备高性能导电薄膜的理想材料,但是当前石墨烯的高电阻率限制了它的实际应用。本文采用喷涂方法制备了石墨烯/聚（3,4-亚乙二氧基噻吩）-聚（苯乙烯磺酸）（PEDOT：PSS）复合导电薄膜,对复合薄膜的表面形貌与光电性能进行了研究。PEDOT：PSS的引入不仅降低了石墨烯薄膜的表面电阻,同时还平滑了薄膜表面。在此基础上,成功制备了柔性黄光有机电致发光器件,器件在12 V时达到效率最大值0.9 cd/A。器件在曲率半径为10 mm时弯曲了100次后,发光亮度并无明显变化。该复合薄膜可实际应用于柔性有机电致发光显示器件。     

Aging phenomena in polystyrene thin films

The aging behavior is investigated for thin films of atactic polystyrene through measurements of complex electric capacitance. During isothermal aging process the real part of the electric capacitance increases with aging time, while the imaginary part decreases with aging time. This result suggests that the aging time dependence of the real and imaginary parts are mainly associated with change in thickness and dielectric permittivity, respectively. In thin films, the thickness depends on thermal history of aging even above the glass transition. Memory and `rejuvenation' effects are also observed in the thin films.