Skip to main content
Dryad

Data from: Direct quantification of ion composition and mobility in organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors

Data files

Mar 21, 2024 version files 1.27 GB

Abstract

Ion transport in organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) is crucial due to its direct impact on device response time and fundamental operating mechanisms but are often assessed indirectly or rely on extra assumptions. Operando X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a powerful, direct probe useful for elemental characterization of bulk OMIECs, and was employed to directly quantify ion composition and mobility in a model OMIEC, PEDOT:PSS, during device operation. The first cycle revealed slow electrowetting and cation-proton exchange. Subsequent cycles showed rapid response with minor cation fluctuation (~5%). Comparison with optical-tracked electrochromic fronts revealed a mesoscale structure dependent proton transport. The calculated effective ion mobility demonstrated thickness-dependent behavior, emphasizing an interfacial ion transport pathway with a higher mobile ion density. The decoupling of bulk and interfacial effects on ion mobility, and the decoupling of cation and proton transport contributes to our understanding of ion transport in conventional and emerging OMIEC-based devices, and has broader implications for ion transport in other ionic conductors writ large.