Electrochemical assembly of conducting polymer films on an insulating surface

An electrochemical assembly process has been developed to overcome the existing limitations in the processability of polyaniline (PANI) on an insulating surface. It combines the high processability of poly(phenylenesulfidephenyleneamine) (PPSA) with the high conductivity and ease of synthesis of polyaniline. In the process, a uniform 20 nm thick layer of PPSA was spin-coated, followed by the electrochemical growth of PANI up to several hundred nanometers thick over the PPSA film. The electrochemical synthesis of PANI on PPSA was investigated with cyclic voltammetry and spectroscopic techniques. It was demonstrated that such hybrid conducting polymer films could be constructed on commercially available interdigitated microelectrodes and microfabricated chemically sensitive field effect transistors. (C) 2002 The Electrochemical Society.