Conductivity-Enhancing Additives

The conductivity of layers made from nonformulated pristine PEDOT PSS is rather low. With the addition of specific compounds, the layer conductivity can usually be increased by one to two orders of magnitude. This is clearly in contrast to expectation the addition of nonconductive components is expected at best to not lower the overall conductivity. An enhancement of conductivity is usually observed when a low volatile and highly polar component is present during drying. Due to their effect, the term conductivity-enhancing additives has become commonly used. 

Antistatic PEDOT PSS back side coating of a photographic film. 

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A classic definition of electrochemical ultracapacitors or supercapacitors summarizes them as devices, which store electrical energy via charge in the electrical double layer, mainly by electrostatic forces, without phase transformation in the electrode materials. Most commercially available capacitors consist of two high surface area carbon electrodes with graphitic or soot-like material as electrical conductivity enhancement additives. Chapter 1 of this volume contains seven papers with overview presentations, and development reports, as related to new carbon materials for this emerging segment of the energy market. 

The addition of solvents will significantly lower the surface tension. Suitable solvents in general are low-boiling solvents miscible with water. Some examples are methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, and 1-butanol as well as volatile water miscible ketones like methyl ethyl ketone. An example for a formulation containing 2-propanol is given in Table 10.3. As a drawback the addition of solvent may decrease the dispersion stability of the PEDOTrPSS-dispersion. A special conductivity enhancing effect of low volatile polar solvents will be discussed in Section 10.4.5 "Conductivity-Enhancing Additives."... 

To ensure a sufficient electronic and thermal conductivity of the positive electrode during the charge and discharge process, conductive additives are required in the positive, transition metal oxide-based electrode.3133 Compared to metal powders as potential conductivity enhancer, carbon materials combine high electronic and thermal conductivity with low weight, low costs, relatively high chemical inertness, and nontoxicity. Conductive carbons optimize the electrical resistivity of the positive electrode mass but are not involved in the electrochemical redox process which delivers the... 

Kobayashi, Y, Tabuchi, M., and Nakamura, O., Ionic conductivity enhancement in LiTi2(P04)3-based composite electrolyte by the addition of hthium nitrate, J. Power Sources, 68, 407, 1997. 

Lithium is used to a limited extent in industry in various alloys. It increases the tensile strength and resistance of magnesium alloys to corrosi on a calcium-lithium alloy is used in purifying copper for high conductivity work. Addition of about o-1 per cent of lithium to aluminium-zinc alloys enhances their tensile strength. 

Recently, nanostructured carbon materials have been receiving increasing attention as conductive additives. A positive effect of single-walled and multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a conductivity enhancer has been reported in the case of positive and... 

Epoxy adhesives are also easy to modify for special purposes. For example, they can be filled with carbon, silver, or gold to provide electrical conductivity. Other additives can enhance thermal conductivity, while maintaining electrical insulation. Additional performance properties of epoxy-based adhesives that can be modified include impact resistance, shrinkage, glass transition temperature, high-temperature strength, surface specific adhesion characteristics, and chemical or moisture resistance. 

Additional additives which may optionally be present in an inkjet ink composition include thickeners, conductivity enhancing agents, anticoagulants, drying agents, and defoamers (20). 

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