In-situ synthesis of transparent conductive PEDOT coating on PET foil by liquid phase depositional polymerization of EDOT

• Uniform Fe(OTs)3 film at mmol/m2 can be coated on PET by dipping PET film in Fe(OTs)3n-butanol solution.
• 100 nm charged PEDOT coating can generate as PET with Fe(OTs)3 is immersed in EDOT cyclohexane solution.
• Transmittance and sheet resistance of PEDOT coating get extremes as drying time and polymerization time increase.
• PEDOT/PET film with transmittance above 80% and sheet resistance below 200 Ω/area can be prepared by LPDP.

To prepare FTCF, PET film was dipped in Fe(OTs)3n-butanol solution for Fe(OTs)3 adsorption and suspended in EDOT cyclohexane solution for EDOT depositional polymerization. The adsorbed Fe(OTs)3 were determined with idometry and the synthesized PEDOT coating were characterised with FTIR and UV–vis spectroscopes. The sheet resistance and transmittance of synthesized PEDOT/PET films were measured with four-point probe and spectrophotometer. The effect of Fe(OTs)3 drying time and polymerization time on sheet resistance and transmittance were investigated. From 80 mmol/L of Fe(OTs)3 solution, PET film could adsorb Fe(OTs)3 at a magnitude of 1.7 mmol/m2. As PET with adsorbed Fe(OTs)3 was suspended in EDOT solution, EDOT monomers deposited to PET surface and joined one another to form positive charged PEDOT molecules continually, resulting in transparent and conductive PEDOT coating on PET film. After dipped in 80 mmol/L Fe(OTs)3 solution, dried at temperature 40 °C and suspended in 80 mmol/L EDOT solution for 15 h, PEDOT coating with thickness about 100 nm and conductivity 530 S/cm generated; flexible PEDOT/PET films with transmittance above 80% and sheet resistance below 200 Ω/area were produced.

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