Abstract
•Increased crystalline and decreased hydrophilicity were desired for stable PEDOT.•Peroxidation of PEDOT caused partial deformation and more dissolution of PEDOT.•Short polymerization time caused looser structure and poor stability.•Increasing temperature and potential accelerated photoelectro-corrosion.•PEDOT short chains and their derivatives were detected as dissolution products.
The stability of poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was studied based on the photoelectro-corrosion. The type of electrolyte can affect morphology, crystallinity, crystal grain size, and hydrophilicity of PEDOT. The polymerization time was shortened and the crystal grain size of PEDOT was increased, and the corresponding PEDOT dissolution was increased under photoelectro-corrosion, along with the order of in the electrolyte containing Cl−, SO42−, PO43−, and ClO4−. The improved stability was attributed to increased crystallinity, small crystal grain size, and decreased hydrophilicity of PEDOT. The peroxidation of PEDOT caused partial deformation and more dissolution. The increase of applied potential and photoelectro-corrosion temperature led to the increase of PEDOT dissolution. Twenty kinds of dissolution products were detected under photoelectro-corrosion of PEDOT. Some dissolution products with corresponding m/z of 262, 284, 325, 561, 645, 704, and 713 were found to have some toxicology concerns. This means it is important to consider such degradation products in terms of their generation, potential release, and possible biological contact.