Humidity‐Induced Nanoscale Restructuring in PEDOT:PSS and Cellulose Nanofibrils Reinforced Biobased Organic Electronics

In times where research focuses on the use of organic polymers as a base for complex organic electronic applications and improving device efficiencies, degradation is still less intensively addressed in fundamental studies. Hence, advanced neutron scattering methods are applied to investigate a model system for organic electronics composed of the widely used conductive polymer blend poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) together with nanocellulose as flexible reinforcing template material. In particular, the impact of relative humidity (RH) on the nanostructure evolution is studied in detail. The implications are discussed from a device performance point of view and the changing nanostructure is correlated with macroscale physical properties such as conductivity. The first humidification (95% RH) leads to an irreversible decrease of conductivity. After the first humidification cycle, however, the conductivity can be reversibly regained when returning to low humidity values (5% RH), which is important for device manufacturing. This finding can directly contribute to an improved usability of emerging organic electronics in daily live.