(1) University of British Columbia - British Columbia - Canada
Intrinsic conducting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) has gained significant importance to develop flexible and wearable electronics, sensors, and biomedical devices. PEDOT:PSS has shown adjustable electrical conductivity via solvent/acid pre- and post-treatment. In this study, we used solvent post-treatment to enhance the electrical conductivity of printed PEDOT:PSS hydrogels. To this aim, in the first step, we tuned the rheological response of the hydrogels for extrusion printing of the samples. Then, to obtain highly electrically conductive printed structures, methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol (EG), dimethyl formaldehyde (DMF), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were utilized as solvents for post-treatment. In order to investigate the effect of the type of solvent on microstructural features, the treated and untreated printed samples were characterized by XRD and XPS techniques. In the last step, the electrical conductivity and printing quality of the samples were examined. It was found that DMSO showed a better enhancement in electrical conductivity.