Size-Selective Ionic Crosslinking Provides Stretchable Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors

Junwoo Lee; Hyunwoo Bark; Yazhen Xue; Pooi See Lee; Mingjiang Zhong

doi:10.1002/anie.202306994

Size-Selective Ionic Crosslinking Provides Stretchable Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2023 Oct 9;62(41):e202306994. doi: 10.1002/anie.202306994. Epub 2023 Aug 31.

Authors

Junwoo Lee¹, Hyunwoo Bark², Yazhen Xue¹, Pooi See Lee², Mingjiang Zhong^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
³ Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.

PMID: 37597178
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202306994

Abstract

Mechanically compliant conductors are of utmost importance for the emerging fields of soft electronics and robotics. However, the development of intrinsically deformable organic conductors remains a challenge due to the trade-off between mechanical performance and charge mobility. In this study, we report a solution to this issue based on size-selective ionic crosslinking. This rationally designed crosslinking mediated by length-regulated oligo(ethylene glycol) pendant groups and metal ions simultaneously improved the softness and toughness and ensured excellent mixed ionic-electronic conductivity in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate composite materials. Moreover, the added ions remarkably promoted accumulation of charge carriers in response to temperature gradient, thus offering a viable approach to stretchable thermoelectric generators with enhanced stability against humidity.

Keywords: Organic Conductors; Size-Selective Ionic Crosslinking; Stretchability; Thermoelectric Generators.

Abstract

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