Rising advancements in the application of PEDOT:PSS as a prosperous transparent and flexible electrode material for solution-processed organic electronics

Abstract

An organic conductive polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), is an attractive candidate for a low-cost, low-temperature, and solution-processed electrode material for achieving high-performance flexible and stretchable thin-film devices. Unlike most organic materials, this water-soluble conjugated polymer is highly stable against chemical and physical exposure. It exhibits the most superior mechanical flexibility and the highest optical transparency and electrical conductivity among all organic conductors. Therefore, this conductive polymer is among the most promising alternatives to the expensive, rigid, and brittle metal oxide- and even metal-based electrode materials, such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and gold, in the future solution-processed electronic devices. Nevertheless, the intrinsic conductivity of PEDOT:PSS is typically below 1 S cm−1, which is too low for such devices. Fortunately, the material properties of PEDOT:PSS, including its conductivity, are easily tuned by employing a large number of simple approaches. In this paper, the reports on the successful application of PEDOT:PSS to a wide range of solution-processed organic devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), and organic photovoltaics (OPVs), are reviewed. The recent progress in the development of highly conductive PEDOT:PSS-based films for electrode applications in the field of organic electronics is the main focus of the discussion herein.