Method of Preparation of Soluble PEDOT: Self-Polymerization of EDOT without Oxidant at Room Temperature

The preparation of soluble conducting polymers proceeds by the chemical oxidation method in the presence of water-soluble polyelectrolytes. Among conducting polymers, polyethylene-(3,4-dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is the most investigated due to its intrinsic properties. In this work, for the first time a simple method of ethylene-(3,4-dioxythiophne) self-polymerization without applying any oxidant and with the formation of PEDOT solution at room temperature with a yield of 100% is presented. This PEDOT solution could be deposited on many desirable surfaces (by simple evaporation of the solvent) for various applications from photovoltaic cell to pseudocapacitors. Moreover, it is discovered that the self-polymerization method does not produce byproducts, which makes the method environmentally friendly. The effect of light and different acids is explored. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy confirm the formation of PEDOT by the self-polymerization method. Moreover, this method provides a way to obtain and study individual PEDOT chains. The self-polymerization method may be applied for the preparation of other conducting polymers.