Iron-Catalyzed Polymerization of Alkoxysulfonate-Functionalized 3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene Gives Water-Soluble Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) of High Conductivity (original) (raw)

2009, Chemistry of Materials

Chemical polymerization of a 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene derivative bearing a sulfonate group (EDOT-S) is reported. The polymer, PEDOT-S, is fully water-soluble and has been produced by polymerizing EDOT-S in water, using Na 2 S 2 O 8 and a catalytic amount of FeCl 3. Elemental analysis and XPS measurements indicate that PEDOT-S is a material with a substantial degree of self-doping, but also contains free sulfate ions as charge-balancing counterions of the oxidized polymer. Apart from selfdoping PEDOT-S, the side chains enable full water solubility of the material; DLS studies show an average cluster size of only 2 nm. Importantly, the solvation properties of the PEDOT-S are reflected in spin-coated films, which show a surface roughness of 1.2 nm and good conductivity (12 S/cm) in ambient conditions. The electro-optical properties of this material are shown with cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemical experiment reveals an electrochromic contrast (∼48% at λ max) 606 nm).

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