Pan Yuzhou, Gao Jiajia, Tian Jialiang, Fu Yingying, Xia Pengfei, Liu Lihui, Chen Shufen
State Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (LoFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications (NUPT), Nanjing 210023, China.
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2025 Jul 30;17(30):43352-43360. doi: 10.1021/acsami.5c08862. Epub 2025 Jul 15.
Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is a widely used flexible electrode material due to its high optical transparency, tunable conductivity, and cost-effective solution processability. However, the excessive insulating PSS content in pristine PEDOT:PSS films leads to an unsatisfactory electrical conductivity and strong acidity. In this work, we introduce a novel class of benzoate salts to significantly enhance the electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS by modulating the metal cations. Systematic investigations reveal that the cation species critically influence phase separation and fibrillar morphology evolution in PEDOT:PSS, following the trend K < Na < Ag. This behavior is attributed to the synergistic interplay between cation softness parameters and ionic radii, ultimately yielding a remarkable conductivity of 534.18 S/cm for Ag-modified PEDOT:PSS. Leveraging this optimized electrode, we demonstrate high-efficiency flexible organic light-emitting diodes achieving outstanding efficiencies of 75.6 cd/A, 39.6 lm/W, and 22.0%, which stem from the enhanced conductivity and well-matched work function. This finding broadens the variety and scope of additives to enhance the electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS and underscores the promising applications of PEDOT:PSS electrodes in high-performance flexible optoelectronic devices.
聚（3,4-乙撑二氧噻吩）：聚（苯乙烯磺酸盐）（PEDOT:PSS）因其高光学透明度、可调节的导电性以及具有成本效益的溶液可加工性，是一种广泛使用的柔性电极材料。然而，原始PEDOT:PSS薄膜中过量的绝缘PSS含量导致导电性不理想和强酸性。在这项工作中，我们引入了一类新型苯甲酸盐，通过调节金属阳离子来显著提高PEDOT:PSS的导电性。系统研究表明，阳离子种类对PEDOT:PSS中的相分离和纤维状形态演变有至关重要的影响，遵循K < Na < Ag的趋势。这种行为归因于阳离子软度参数和离子半径之间的协同相互作用，最终使银改性的PEDOT:PSS具有534.18 S/cm的显著电导率。利用这种优化的电极，我们展示了高效柔性有机发光二极管，实现了75.6 cd/A、39.6 lm/W和22.0%的出色效率，这源于增强的导电性和良好匹配的功函数。这一发现拓宽了提高PEDOT:PSS导电性的添加剂种类和范围，并强调了PEDOT:PSS电极在高性能柔性光电器件中的应用前景。
