Measurement Protocols for Reporting PEDOT Thin Film Conductivity and Optical Transmission: A Critical Survey

PEDOT is one of the most frequently studied conducting polymers in literature but values for optical transmission and electrical conductivity vary greatly. Therefore measurement protocols are examined and insights are suggested into why the protocols themselves may lead to differences. Reported PEDOT conductivity is the result of contact and non-contact film thickness and four-point probe measurements. The soft nature of PEDOT implies that any contact method must be executed with extreme care as values of conductivity ranging from 780 to 2 775 S.cm(-1) can be obtained. Similarly, variations in the optical minimum, maximum, and transmission range are found based on different switching voltage protocols. The results present here highlight the need for explicitly stating the measurement protocol used.