Understanding and engineering ion transport in conducting polymers.

• Main Author: Stavrinidou, Eleni
• Language: ENG
• Published: Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne 2013
• Subjects: [SPI:OTHER] Engineering Sciences/Other; [SPI:OTHER] Sciences de l'ingénieur/Autre; Organic bioelectronics; Conducting polymers; Ion transport
• Online Access: http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00968227; http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/96/82/27/PDF/Stavrinidou-Eleni-diff.pdf

Many organic electronic and bioelectronics devices rely on mixed (electronic and ionic) transport within a single organic layer. Although electronic transport in these materials is relatively well understood, a fundamental understanding of ion transport is missing. I developed a simple analytical model that describes ion transport in a planar junction between an electrolyte and a conducting polymer film. The model leads to predictions of the temporal evolution of drift length of ions and current. These predictions are validated by numerical simulations and by using realistic parameters, I show that the analytical model can be used to obtain the ion mobility in the film. Furthermore, I developed an experimental method which allows the application of the analytical model and leads to a straightforward estimation of the ion drift mobilities in conducting polymers. PEDOT:PSS was found to support efficient transport of common ions, consistent with extensive swelling of the film in water. Crosslinking the film decreased its swelling and the ion mobility. Understanding the high correlation of hydration and ionic conductivity enables us to engineer materials with high and defined ion mobilities. As an example tuning of ion mobility by adjusting the relative ratio of the hydroscopic phase to PEDOT:TOS is presented. Finally I performed electrochemical impedance spectroscopy during a moving front experiment, in order to give a physical interpretation of the impedance spectra at a conducting polymer/electrolyte junction.