Abstract
•Improved electrical stability of solvent treated PEDOT:PSS thin films is reported.•The effect of solvent treatment on the surface wetting properties of the treated PEDOT:PSS thin films was investigated.•Suggestions based on the obtained results are given for efficient device performance.
Solvent post-treatment of PEDOT:PSS conductive thin films have been shown to be an effective way to improve their electrical conductivity. However, such treatment could also have an impact on the performance stability and surface properties of PEDOT:PSS films. In the current work, PEDOT:PSS samples were prepared with different thicknesses and treated using a simple solvent post-treatment method. The electrical performance stability of the solvent post-treated films was investigated over prolonged time period. The electrical stability of the studied samples shows some dependence on their thickness. Moreover, reduced electrical performance degradation was noticed after solvent treatment. An alteration in the films wetting-dewetting properties after the treatment was also observed. The correlation between the surface properties and the improved performance stability of the treated PEDOT:PSS films is discussed in the light of the obtained results. Some remarks on the impact of solvent treatment on the performance of the treated-PEDOT:PSS films based devices are also given.