Harry, if you simply need inexpensive material to create flexible conductive line for interconnecting photocells, then look at conductive ink instead of intrinsically conductive polymers. Lots of formulations available commercially and fairly inexpensively, from hand-tracing pens to inkjet cartridges. Carbon-based conductive ink from Bare Conductive could work for connecting photocells, or try one of circuit repair pens:

https://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Scribe-Conductive-Ink-Pen/dp/B00OZATJ3A

There are some conductive inks which could be charged into cartridges of consumer inkjet printers, search for suppliers available in your location of conductive ink suitable for printers similar to

https://www.novacentrix.com/products/metalon-inks/inkjet

Large manufacturers often happily provide small samples of materials, search for major OEMs of conductive inks and coatings (like http://www.globalhenkelelectronics.com/electronics_literature/get_file.php?file_id=102)  and write to their application support group.

If you need small quantity of actual conductive polymer for your research project, then it is entirely possible that people involved in Electron Beam Lithography at your research center would be willing to share some aquaSAVE or E-Shield. These EBL formulations have limited shelf life for intended application, but remain conductive and usable for less-critical applications long time after the expiration date.

If you need to buy conductive polymers for creating actual photocell, then source them from chemistry suppliers. I bought PEDOT:PSS from Sigma-Aldrich couple of years ago, and I believe it was one of the lowest-priced polymers at that time. Search websites of other organic chemistry suppliers for prices.

Best Wishes,

Valery

Hi Harry,

I don´t know any cheaper alternative among conducting polymers than PEDOT:PSS. Moreover, it is very easily processable in the form of different dispersions with the wide range of viscosities for various printing and coating techniques.  

Thanks for your answers everyone, I don't know why I never recieved any notifications in my emails, unless i just simply missed them.

I am working with Perovskite solar cells so it affects the requirements I have.

Hello Valery regarding the conductive inks, usually they are quite expensive, when I have  asked, Carbon which always is the cheapest has the disadvantage of not being transparent so in photovoltaic applications it can only be used as the bottom or top electrode which is fine in some cases but then also one has to think along the lines of how the solvent affects the perovskite. They do sell inks which are designed for this but the carbon black (relatively  expensive in my eyes ) and solvent combination are rather expensive. I might find if a group in my centre can give me a small amount of their conductive polymer that they use too.I will enquire with the companies though, they might suprise me, but  I don't want to pay a lot for a transparent conductive ink.

I have checked out metallic nanowires of copper or silver and they are quite expensive too for a small volume like 25ml, over 100 euros so I don't want to go down that route. 

The direction of the work I want to start doing is specifically low cost photovoltaics, so any materials I get from my colleagues would need to meet that requirement, I will look into it too. 

Sigma as you say provide PEDOT:PSS for 218 euros per 250g, this is the conductive grade and is a dispersion in water, this is like under a euro for 1gram,

Which sounds the most reasonable I have seen so far, it is transparent, has a conductivity of 1S/cm and this can be increased if you add solvents to it, but I would prefer to use ethanol as the solvent is really  easily available for me.

So far when I just checked the price of PANI in Sigma Aldrich it is roughly 10 euros per gram. 25g is like 250 euros. Not sure if there are cheaper routes I will check your papers Tihomir. Thanks for those.

Pavol, thanks, I think it is the direction I will go in, when people talk about cheap electrodes using graphene and carbon nanotubes and nanowires, hopefully they are aware also that the energy required to produce them and the cost is also high, so far we don't have cheap methods to make them. (I mean less than 7 euros/g) (I think) I mean just look at PCBM and other buckyballs.

If anyone has any more ideas it would be great, but thanks for your already shared thoughts too.

Harry

Charalambos. What about aluminium thin film?

Stefan Ručman Because it needed to be transparent, thanks for trying though. I am also wondering if there is a cheap alternative to pedot:pss as a hole transport material as I don't have much money to buy a whole load of it personally and still trying to do my research away from my research centre.

@charalambos Actually if thin enough aluminum film can be transparent. I made it with sparking discharge process

Stefan Ručman Is it safe and cheap to do in a place with only a few fume hoods or at home in the kitchen with the fume hood? Can I do it for less than £50? or at most £100?

do you have a copy or video or images or instructions on how you did it?

Thank you

Charalambos Andrew Georgiou https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=181MAXAXx74

something like this.

yes.

Stefan Ručman that looks like an expensive method if you have to buy that piece of equipement, is this a cheap piece of equipment easily available?

It looks expensive

polyaniline protonated with some acids is a good option.

No. It is actually very cheap. All parts are available in stores.

We are reputed suppliers for polyanalline .

We have capacity to deliver PANI in bulk.

Our price is 12000/kg and purity is 99%pure.

We provide COA and Characterisation report for same.

Mail us for requirements.

[email protected]

www.nomismahealthcare.in

https://m.indiamart.com/nomisma-healthcare/conductive-polymers.htmlm.indiamart.com/nomisma-healthcare/conductive-polymers.html