Issue 1, 2022

Tuning of the elastic modulus of a soft polythiophene through molecular doping

Abstract

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 Tg and the degree of π-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.

Graphical abstract: Tuning of the elastic modulus of a soft polythiophene through molecular doping

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
08 iyl 2021
Accepted
04 noy 2021
First published
17 noy 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Mater. Horiz., 2022,9, 433-443

Tuning of the elastic modulus of a soft polythiophene through molecular doping

S. Zokaei, D. Kim, E. Järsvall, A. M. Fenton, A. R. Weisen, S. Hultmark, P. H. Nguyen, A. M. Matheson, A. Lund, R. Kroon, M. L. Chabinyc, E. D. Gomez, I. Zozoulenko and C. Müller, Mater. Horiz., 2022, 9, 433 DOI: 10.1039/D1MH01079D

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