Fabrication of free-standing multilayered graphene and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) composite films with enhanced conductive and mechanical properties.
Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-based film has relatively high conductivity, flexibility, and transmittance. However, the improvement for mechanical strength and conductivity is still required to be adopted for commercial applications. Graphene, a one atom thick planar sheet of sp(2)-bonded carbon atoms, is considered as an ideal nanocomposite material for these purposes. In this study, we have developed PEDOT and graphene composite films, two-layered graphene/PEDOT and three-layered graphene/PEDOT/graphene, by using a spin-coating method. The conductivity of a 32 nm thick PEDOT film was improved more than twice by graphene deposition, while the high transmittance of the composite film was maintained over 90%. The mechanical strength of the PEDOT and graphene composite film shows 6-fold enhancement over the pristine PEDOT film. Because of the contribution of graphene layer for enhancing the mechanical strength, a 44 nm thick graphene/PEDOT/graphene could be obtained as a free-standing film by delaminating the graphene layer from the glass substrate under a weak base solution. These results imply that the graphene not only improves the conductivity and mechanical strength of PEDOT but also enables to produce a free-standing film which could find a variety of applications in the fields of organic electronic, sensors, and optoelectronics.
Choi
Ki Seok
KS
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21 program) and Institute for the BioCentury, KAIST, 335 Gwahangno, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Korea.
Liu
Fei
F
Choi
Jong Seob
JS
Seo
Tae Seok
TS
D019086:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic / Q000737:chemistry*; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D019563:Mechanics; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
D019086:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011108:Polymers; C121383:poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene); D002244:Carbon