Solid-State Organic Electrolyte-Gated Transistors Based on Doping-Controlled Polymer Composites with a Confined Two-Dimensional Channel in Dry Conditions

Compatibility of cellulose-PEDOT:PSS composites and anions in solid-state organic electrochemical transistors

We investigate the effects of water-processable celluloses on the charge-transport properties in the conducting polymer composites and their solid-state organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). Water-soluble methyl cellulose (MC) and water-dispersible cellulose nanofiber (CNF) are blended with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) in solution and used as a conductive channel. Both cellulose-PEDOT:PSS composites show fibrillar structures in thin films with respective dimensions of cellulose. The electrical conductivity was increased with 5-10 wt% of cellulose in the composite. The solid-state OECTs show better performance when the ionogel contains 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium triflate (EMIM:OTf) compared to the system with the commonly used EMIM bis(trifluoromethyl sulfonyl)imide (EMIM:TFSI). The MC-PEDOT:PSS composite paired with an EMIM:OTf-based ionogel exhibits a high figure-of-merit (μC⁎) of OECTs of >50 F cm-1 V-1 s-1 and an on-to-off current ratio of >103. Our results show that cellulose and EMIM:OTf are compatible with PEDOT:PSS and that appropriate materials pairing can improve the properties of PEDOT:PSS-based composites and the performance of their electrochemical devices.

Gel-Based Electrolytes for Organic Electrochemical Transistors: Mechanisms, Applications, and Perspectives

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) have emerged as the core component of specialized bioelectronic technologies due to their high signal amplification capability, low operating voltage (<1 V), and biocompatibility. Under a gate bias, OECTs modulate device operation via ionic drift between the electrolyte and the channel. Compared to common electrolytes with a fluid nature (including salt aqueous solutions and ion liquids), gel electrolytes, with an intriguing structure consisting of a physically and/or chemically crosslinked polymer network where the interstitial spaces between polymers are filled with liquid electrolytes or mobile ion species, are promising candidates for quasi-solid electrolytes. Due to relatively high ionic conductivity, the potential for large-scale integration, and the capability to suppress channel swelling, gel electrolytes have been a research highlight in OECTs in recent years. This review summarizes recent progress on OECTs with gel electrolytes that demonstrate good mechanical as well as physical and chemical stabilities. Moreover, various components in forming gel electrolytes, including different mobile liquid phases and polymer components, are introduced. Furthermore, applications of these OECTs in the areas of sensors, neuromorphics, and organic circuits, are discussed. Last, future perspectives of OECTs based on gel electrolytes are discussed along with possible solutions for existing challenges.

Thermal behavior of the dielectric response of composites based on poly(vinylidene fluoride) filled with two-dimensional V2CTx MXenes

In this study, two-dimensional V2CTx MXenes were prepared by an accessible and rapid method, which involved aluminothermic combustion synthesis of the V2AlC MAX phase and its further processing in an HCl/LiF mixture under hydrothermal conditions. The resulting V2CTx MXene was characterised by XRD, SEM, TEM and XANES. A colloidal solution of the V2CTx MXene in dimethylformamide was used to prepare nanocomposites based on a poly(vinylidene fluoride) polymer matrix with a conductive filler content of 2.5 to 20 wt%. The nanocomposites were characterised by XRD, SEM and simultaneous DSC-TG analysis. The dielectric properties of the nanocomposites were studied using impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 1 MHz at temperatures from -50 to +140 °C. The results showed that adding 20 wt% V2CTx to PVDF allows increasing the permittivity to 425.3 with a dielectric loss tangent of 0.54 at a frequency of 10 kHz. Studies of the temperature behavior of the dielectric response of composites have shown that the nature of the temperature dependence of the permittivity and dielectric loss tangent was determined mainly by the characteristics of the PVDF polymer matrix, while the filler had a significant effect only on the interfacial polarization, which increased with increasing V2CTx filler concentration and temperature.

Electrical Tuning of Plasmonic Conducting Polymer Nanoantennas

Nanostructures of conventional metals offer manipulation of light at the nanoscale but are largely limited to static behavior due to fixed material properties. To develop the next frontier of dynamic nano-optics and metasurfaces, this study utilizes the redox-tunable optical properties of conducting polymers, as recently shown to be capable of sustaining plasmons in their most conducting oxidized state. Electrically tunable conducting polymer nano-optical antennas are presented, using nanodisks of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene:sulfate) (PEDOT:Sulf) as a model system. In addition to repeated on/off switching of the polymeric nanoantennas, the concept enables gradual electrical tuning of the nano-optical response, which was found to be related to the modulation of both density and mobility of the mobile polaronic charge carriers in the polymer. The resonance position of the PEDOT:Sulf nanoantennas can be conveniently controlled by disk size, here reported down to a wavelength of around 1270 nm. The presented concept may be used for electrically tunable metasurfaces, with tunable farfield as well as nearfield. The work thereby opens for applications ranging from tunable flat meta-optics to adaptable smart windows.

Sigmoidal Dependence of Electrical Conductivity of Thin PEDOT:PSS Films on Concentration of Linear Glycols as a Processing Additive

We investigate the sigmoidal concentration dependence of electrical conductivity of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) processed with linear glycol-based additives such as ethylene glycol (EG), diethylene glycol (DEG), triethylene glycol (TEG), hexaethylene glycol (HEG), and ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME). We observe that a sharp transition of conductivity occurs at the additive concentration of ~0.6 wt.%. EG, DEG, and TEG are effective in conductivity enhancement, showing the saturation conductivities of 271.8, 325.4, and 326.2 S/cm, respectively. Optical transmittance and photoelectron spectroscopic features are rather invariant when the glycols are used as an additive. Two different figures of merit, calculated from both sheet resistance and optical transmittance to describe the performance of the transparent electrodes, indicate that both DEG and TEG are two most effective additives among the series in fabrication of transparent electrodes based on PEDOT:PSS films with a thickness of ~50-60 nm.