Influence of PEDOT:PSS crystallinity and composition on electrochemical transistor performance and long-term stability

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06084-6
• Publication Date: 2018-09-17T14:06:40Z
• Authors: Seong-Min Kim; Chang-Hyun Kim; Youngseok Kim; Nara Kim; Won-June Lee; Eun-Hak Lee; Dokyun Kim; Sungjun Park; Kwanghee Lee; Jonathan Rivnay; Myung-Han Yoon
• Keywords: Science; Q; Materials Chemistry; Materialkemi; 01 natural sciences; Article; 0104 chemical sciences

AbstractOwing to the mixed electron/hole and ion transport in the aqueous environment, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)-based organic electrochemical transistor has been regarded as one of the most promising device platforms for bioelectronics. Nonetheless, there exist very few in-depth studies on how intrinsic channel material properties affect their performance and long-term stability in aqueous environments. Herein, we investigated the correlation among film microstructural crystallinity/composition, device performance, and aqueous stability in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) films. The highly organized anisotropic ordering in crystallized conducting polymer films led to remarkable device characteristics such as large transconductance (∼20 mS), extraordinary volumetric capacitance (113 F·cm−3), and unprecedentedly high [μC*] value (∼490 F·cm−1V−1s−1). Simultaneously, minimized poly(styrenesulfonate) residues in the crystallized film substantially afforded marginal film swelling and robust operational stability even after >20-day water immersion, >2000-time repeated on-off switching, or high-temperature/pressure sterilization. We expect that the present study will contribute to the development of long-term stable implantable bioelectronics for neural recording/stimulation.