Inhomogeneity Effects in Vapor Phase Polymerized PEDOT: A Tool to Influence Conductivity

Abstract Low‐MW urethanes were investigated to control domain formation as well as inhibiting cleavage reactions during vapor phase polymerization of PEDOT. A diurethanediol (DUDO) was identified as a highly efficient mediator for the process, resulting in PEDOT films exceeding conductivities of 1 000 S · cm−1. All the urethanes investigated had the desired inhibiting effect on the polymerization, but all apart from DUDO also introduced unwanted domain formation on the micrometer scale. The addition of PEG generally improved conductivity by suppressing the domain formation and, with an optimized combination of DUDO and PEG, conductivities over 1 200 S · cm−1 were achieved. magnified image