Tuning of the elastic modulus of a soft polythiophene through molecular doping
Journal article, 2022
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 T-g and the degree of pi-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.
Author
Sepideh Zokaei
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Donghyun Kim
Linköping University
Emmy Järsvall
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Abigail M. Fenton
Pennsylvania State University
Albree R. Weisen
Pennsylvania State University
Sandra Hultmark
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Phong H. Nguyen
University of California at Santa Barbara
Amanda M. Matheson
University of California at Santa Barbara
Anja Lund
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Renee Kroon
Linköping University
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Michael L. Chabinyc
University of California at Santa Barbara
Enrique D. Gomez
Pennsylvania State University
Igor Zozoulenko
Linköping University
Christian Müller
Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC)
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Materials Horizons
2051-6347 (ISSN) 2051-6355 (eISSN)
Vol. 9 1 433-443Double Doping of Semiconducting Polymers
Swedish Research Council (VR) (2018-03824), 2018-01-01 -- 2021-12-31.
Subject Categories
Polymer Chemistry
Textile, Rubber and Polymeric Materials
Materials Chemistry
DOI
10.1039/d1mh01079d
PubMed
34787612