Conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs), which combine π-conjugated backbones with ionic side chains, are intrinsically soluble in polar solvents and have demonstrated tunability with respect to solution processability and optoelectronic performance. However, this class of polymers often suffers from limited solubility in water. Here, we demonstrate how polyelectrolyte coacervation can be utilized for aqueous processing of conjugated polymers at extremely high polymer loading. Sampling various mixing conditions, we identify compositions that enable the formation of complex coacervates of an alkoxysulfonate-substituted PEDOT (PEDOT-S) with poly(3-methyl-1-propylimidazolylacrylamide) (PA-MPI). The resulting coacervate is a viscous fluid containing 50% w/v polymer and can be readily blade-coated into films of 4 ± 0.5 μm thick. Subsequent acid doping of the film increased the electrical conductivity of the coacervate to twice that of a doped film of neat PEDOT-S. This higher conductivity of the doped coacervate film suggests an enhancement in charge carrier transport along PEDOT-S backbone, in agreement with spectroscopic data, which shows an enhancement in the conjugation length of PEDOT-S upon coacervation. This study illustrates the utilization of electrostatic interactions in aqueous processing of conjugated polymers, which will be useful in large-scale industrial processing of semiconductive materials using limited solvent and with added enhancements to optoelectronic properties.

中文翻译：

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使用聚电解质凝聚的浓缩半导体流体的水性配方

共轭聚电解质 (CPE) 结合了 π 共轭主链和离子侧链，本质上可溶于极性溶剂，并在溶液加工性和光电性能方面表现出可调性。然而，这类聚合物通常在水中的溶解度有限。在这里，我们展示了如何利用聚电解质凝聚法在极高的聚合物负载下对共轭聚合物进行水处理。通过对各种混合条件进行采样，我们确定了能够形成烷氧基磺酸盐取代的 PEDOT (PEDOT-S) 与聚 (3-甲基-1-丙基咪唑基丙烯酰胺) (PA-MPI) 的复合凝聚层的组合物。所得凝聚层是一种粘性流体，含有 50% w / v聚合物，可以很容易地刮涂成 4 ± 0.5 μm 厚的薄膜。随后对薄膜进行酸掺杂将凝聚层的电导率提高到纯 PEDOT-S 掺杂薄膜的两倍。掺杂凝聚层薄膜的这种更高的导电性表明沿 PEDOT-S 主链的电荷载流子传输增强，这与光谱数据一致，这表明凝聚时 PEDOT-S 的共轭长度增加。这项研究说明了在共轭聚合物的水性加工中利用静电相互作用，这将有助于使用有限溶剂对半导体材料进行大规模工业加工，并增加光电性能的增强。