ENHANCED STABILITY OF CONDUCTING POLY(3-OCTYLTHIOPHENE) THIN-FILMS USING ORGANIC NITROSYL COMPOUNDS

Organic anion-nitrosyl compounds have been tested for the chemical dop ing of thin films of poly(3-octylthiophene) (P3OT). The use of a fluor inated anion with a high degree of dissociation, such as bis(trifluoro methanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI), appears to be effective: high conductivi ties are obtained, even for low doping levels (nearly five times lower than the levels required when using conventional dopants). Moreover, the TFSI anion generates a stable doping process spanning a wide range of conductivities. This represents a new result for the doping of pol y(3-alkylthiophene) (P3AT) with an organic oxidant and compares favora bly with AuCl4-, which, to date, has resulted in the best ambient stab ilities for the conducting state of P3AT.