Highly Conductive and Mechanically Robust PEDOT:PSS-Based Fibers: Fabrication Methods, Structure-Property Relations, and Potential Applications.

In the field of smart wearable technologies, conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has been considered as an indispensable material selection and widely employed. Recently, to comply with the development fashion in smart textiles, a variety of highly conductive and robust PEDOT:PSS-based fibers have been produced from PEDOT:PSS. For these PEDOT:PSS-based fibers in 1D geometry, the PEDOT:PSS chains are packed in an oriented and extended feature, which therefore facilitates both effective charge carrier transport and good mechanical load bearing capability along the fiber axis, resulting in both high electrical conductivity and mechanical strength. Our review article provides an overview of recent progress made on the PEDOT:PSS-based fibers. First, the fabrication methods are introduced. Corresponding to different methods, the morphology of the as-obtained fibers is highlighted. Then, their structural characteristics are analyzed in comparison with the 2D film counterparts. The relationship between their microstructure and electrical/mechanical properties is also discussed. In addition, their applications in Joule heating, thermoelectric conversion, multifunctional sensing, energy storage etc. are summarized with a few representative examples. Finally, our perspectives on the main challenges and future development of the fiber-type PEDOT:PSS-based materials and devices are outlooked.