MODIFICATION OF POLYBITHIOPHENE BY ELECTROCHEMICAL CYCLING STUDIED BY TOF-SIMS AND XPS

A parallel ToF-SIMS/XPS study of electrochemically grown polybithiophene was carried out on both doped (ClO4-) and undoped pristine polymers and on samples electrochemically cycled from the conducting to the insulating form. The potential of ToF-SIMS in the analysis of this class of polymers was exploited for the first time and invaluable chemical information on the structure of both doped and undoped pristine samples was obtained. Moreover, the power of coupling SIMS and XPS techniques has been shown with reference to the investigation of the polymer "surface modifications" with cycling. On the basis of information obtained on the surface chemical composition, a first attempt to elucidate the degradation process of these polymers was made, with particularly reference to the key role of the amount of water in the solvent.