Issue 7, 2020

The damaging effects of the acidity in PEDOT:PSS on semiconductor device performance and solutions based on non-acidic alternatives

Abstract

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate), PEDOT:PSS, has been widely used as an effective hole transporting material in many different organic semiconductor devices for well over a decade. However, despite having many strong features which make this material such a popular hole transport/injection layer, PEDOT:PSS is well-known to cause degradation in devices and limit their stability due to the acidity of the PSS chain. This review focusses on the attempts that have been made to combat this problem, with different strategies explored, including the development of neutral analogues, use of alternative materials and the introduction of barrier layers to prevent degradation of the electrode. Since solution-processing is a key advantage of using PEDOT:PSS, we concentrate on analogous materials that can also be solution-processed, with particular attention on whether orthogonal processing can be retained. We intend this work to be a useful guide for researchers considering enhanced device lifetimes, an important parameter when considering organic semiconductor devices for commercialisation.

Graphical abstract: The damaging effects of the acidity in PEDOT:PSS on semiconductor device performance and solutions based on non-acidic alternatives

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
09 Dec 2019
Accepted
24 Mar 2020
First published
24 Mar 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Mater. Horiz., 2020,7, 1759-1772

The damaging effects of the acidity in PEDOT:PSS on semiconductor device performance and solutions based on non-acidic alternatives

J. Cameron and P. J. Skabara, Mater. Horiz., 2020, 7, 1759 DOI: 10.1039/C9MH01978B

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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