Optical Spectra of p-Doped PEDOT Nanoaggregates Provide Insight into the Material Disorder

Highly doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), or PEDOT, is a conductive polymer with a wide range of applications in energy conversion due to its ease of processing, optical properties, and high conductivity. The latter is influenced by processing conditions, including formulation, annealing, and solvent treatment of the polymer, which also affects the polymer arrangement. Here, we show that the analysis of the optical spectra of PEDOT domains reveals the nature and magnitude of the structural disorder in the material. In particular, the optical spectra of objects on individual domains can be used for elucidation of molecular disorder in an oligomer arrangement, which is a key factor affecting the conductivity.