Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(4-styrenesulfonate): Correlation between colloidal particles and thin films

• Published in: Thin solid films Vol. 517; no. 11; pp. 3299 - 3303
• Main Authors: Yan, Hu, Arima, Susumu, Mori, Yusaku, Kagata, Tsubasa, Sato, Hiroshi, Okuzaki, Hidenori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 02.04.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Atomic force microscopy (AFM); Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Deposition by sputtering; Exact sciences and technology; Fullerenes and related materials; diamonds, graphite; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Other topics in nanoscale materials and structures; Physics; Polymer; Specific materials; Structure and morphology; thickness; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Thin film structure and morphology; Transmission electron microscopy (TEM); X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); Atomic force microscopy (AFM); Polymer; Transmission electron microscopy (TEM); X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); Atomic force microscopy; Dispersions; Sputtering; Thin films; Nanoparticles; Thiophene derivative polymer; Wafers; Silicon; Scanning transmission electron microscopy; Polymers; Sol-gel process; pH value; Light scattering; Dispersive spectrometry; Layer thickness; Silver; Transmission electron microscopy; Spin-on coatings; Monolayers; Fullerenes; Styrenesulfonate polymer; Spin-on coating; Thiophene polymer; Nanostructured materials; Colloid particle; X-ray photoelectron spectra
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2009.01.004

We deal with correlation between sizes of colloidal particles and minimum thickness of spin-coated thin films of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) studied by a dynamic light scattering (DLS), a scanning transmission electron microscopy coupled with an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDX), C 60-sputtering X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and an atomic force microscopy. Based on the various measurements, it was pointed out that, PEDOT/PSS colloidal dispersion contained majority of primary nanoparticles with mean diameter of 41 nm and 16 nm for BAYTRON P AG (denote P grade) or BAYTRON PH500 (denote PH grade) solutions, respectively, and small amount of clusters aggregated by the primary particles, based on the DLS measurement and STEM observation. On the other hand, PEDOT/PSS thin films with thickness of 44 nm and 16 nm were easily prepared by spin-coating on silicon wafers from the P and PH grade solutions, respectively. Results of STEM-EDX, DLS, and XPS measurements suggested that the PEDOT/PSS thin films consist of the randomly packed primary nanoparticle-“monolayer”.