Development of solution-based electrodes from nanocomposite material between PEDOT:PSS and ITO nanoparticles

Abstract

Electrodes based on low-temperature preparation such as ink jet printing have been famously used in plastic electronic devices. The aim of this work is to investigate the specific properties of composite materials between nanoparticles of indium tin oxide (np-ITO) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as an alternative electrode for plastic electronic devices. The composite materials were prepared as a function of np-ITO concentration varied from 1 to 20 w/v%. The 1x1 cm2 hybrid electrodes were fabricated by drop casting method on the microscope slide. This method offers many advantages, including simple preparation, low manufacturing cost and short fabricating time. The electrical resistance of the hybrid films was measured using two-probe measurement. Moreover, the surface morphology of the composited film was explored by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results clearly suggest that mixing np-ITO with PEDOT:PSS can significantly improve conductivity of the composited system. Average value of electrical resistance measured from np-ITO, PEDOT:PSS and composite film are 87.58 kΩ, 40.33 kΩ and 393 Ω, respectively. The significant reduction of film resistance can be explained by the conducting paths made up by PEDOT:PSS to connect np-ITO domain.