journal article·2022Open access

Tuning of the elastic modulus of a soft polythiophene through molecular doping

Sepideh Zokaei, Donghyun Kim, Emmy Järsvall, Abigail M. Fenton, Albree R. Weisen, Sandra Hultmark, Phong H. Nguyen, Amanda M. Matheson, Anja Lund, Renee Kroon, Michael L. Chabinyc, Enrique D. Gomez, Igor Zozoulenko, Christian Müller

Materials Horizons· Volume 9· Issue 1

Abstract

Molecular doping of a polythiophene with oligoethylene glycol side chains is found to strongly modulate not only the electrical but also the mechanical properties of the polymer. An oxidation level of up to 18% results in an electrical conductivity of more than 52 S cm-1 and at the same time significantly enhances the elastic modulus from 8 to more than 200 MPa and toughness from 0.5 to 5.1 MJ m-3. These changes arise because molecular doping strongly influences the glass transition temperature Tg and the degree of π-stacking of the polymer, as indicated by both X-ray diffraction and molecular dynamics simulations. Surprisingly, a comparison of doped materials containing mono- or dianions reveals that - for a comparable oxidation level - the presence of multivalent counterions has little effect on the stiffness. Evidently, molecular doping is a powerful tool that can be used for the design of mechanically robust conducting materials, which may find use within the field of flexible and stretchable electronics.
Source: europepmc · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Conducting polymers and applications · Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials · Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg 41296, Sweden

Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linköping University, Norrköping 60174, Sweden

Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA

Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA

Wallenberg Wood Science Center, Linköping University, Norrköping 60174, Sweden

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

Wallenberg Wood Science Center, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg 41296, Sweden

Funding

Vetenskapsrådet · Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse · National Science Foundation · Army Research Office

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