Nanotextured Pedot:Tos Layers from Block Copolymer Lithography

Among functional materials, π-conjugated polymers are very attractive for large-scale or wearable applications thanks to their electronic and soft-matter properties. Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) based materials are often considered as the flagships of polymer electronics. Indeed, their tunable doping level affords various electronic transport behaviors, i.e. metallic, semi-metallic, or semi-conductor, with respect to the targeted applications. Furthermore, reducing the size of functional objects is a cornerstone of the semi-conductor industry's drive for improved performance. Hence, the nanopatterning of π-conjugated polymers and its relationship to electronic behavior is of high interest for future developments in polymer electronics. Here we report the texturation of PEDOT:Tos thin films at the nanometer scale via block copolymer lithography using self-assembled poly(styrene)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) layers as masks. By means of imaging and electronic spectral analyses, we demonstrate that doped-PEDOT nanostructures can be obtained by this process through a re-doping treatment, enabling the recovery of the majority of the electronic states of the nanotextured PEDOT:Tos layer.