Bulk Doping of Conjugated Polymers and Interplay of Their Electrical and Mechanical Properties

Chemical doping is widely used to modulate the electrical properties of conjugated polymers. Doping of thin films facilitates fundamental spectroscopic studies and, ultimately, is important for the operation of devices from transistors to solar cells. However, some applications such as thermoelectrics and wearable electronics require bulk materials, which complicates doping processes. This talk will explore some of the fundamentals of doping of both thin films and bulk materials. The impact of doping on the electrical as well as mechanical properties will be discussed, and it is shown how doping can be used to tune both the conductivity and stiffness of conjugated polymers. Finally, strategies are explored that permit to decouple the effect of doping on the electrical and mechanical properties.