10.1021/acsami.5b02830.s001 Xi Fan Xi Fan Jinzhao Wang Jinzhao Wang Hanbin Wang Hanbin Wang Xiang Liu Xiang Liu Hao Wang Hao Wang Bendable ITO-free Organic Solar Cells with Highly Conductive and Flexible PEDOT:PSS Electrodes on Plastic Substrates American Chemical Society 2015 power conversion efficiency electrode conductivity indium tin oxide OSC PEDOT bendable plastic substrates exhibits flexibility electronic ITO film 3HT MSA PCE plastic substrates device 2015-08-05 00:00:00 Journal contribution https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Bendable_ITO_free_Organic_Solar_Cells_with_Highly_Conductive_and_Flexible_PEDOT_PSS_Electrodes_on_Plastic_Substrates/2143591 Flexible and transparent electrodes have great potential for photon transmission and charge-carrier collection for next generation electronics compared to rigid electronics with indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrates. This study describes a comprehensive study of the electrical, morphological, optical, structural, and mechanical properties of poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly­(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films treated by methanol and methanesulfonic acid (MSA), which are coated on hydrophobic flexible plastic substrates. Such a film coated on hydrophobic plastic substrates exhibits a high conductivity up to 3560 S cm<sup>–1</sup> and a good mechanical flexibility. Moreover, the use of the films to fabricate bendable ITO-free organic solar cells (OSCs) integrated on plastic substrates was presented. The bendable devices based on P3HT:PCBM not only exhibit a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 3.92%, which is comparable to 4.30% of the rigid devices with ITO-coated glass substrates, but also keep about 80% in PCE of the initial value after 100 time bending with a bending radius of 14 mm in the ambient atmosphere. This work provides a novel route to dramatically improve the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS electrodes, as well as the mechanical flexibility of highly efficient organic electronics with the flexible electrodes.