Counter-ion induced processibility of conducting polymers: 1. Acid-assisted oxidative doping and solubilization

In this paper a new mechanism is introduced for chemical redox doping of conjugated polymers. The redox reaction involves a protonic acid–base reaction in situ generating a functionalized counter-ion, yielding solubility of the doped polymer. The mechanism is experimentally verified using both poly(p-phenylene vinylene)s (PPVs) and polythiophenes (PTs) as model systems. No precipitation of dissolved doped polymer is observed, while evaporation of the solvent yields conductivities of 10−3 S cm−1.