Electrical characterisation of calixarene-sensitive spin-coated layers

Many investigations have been achieved on molecular materials according to their possible application as sensors and electronic devices. Calix[n]arenes were receptor molecules for a wide variety of cations and organic molecules. This propriety was attributed to the phenolic unit that allow the synthesis of molecules with different size and conformations. In this work, we present experimental results of Electrolyte-Insulator- Semiconductor (EIS) devices coated by layers of p-tert-butylcalix[n]arenes (n = 8,9,11,12). The sensitivity of the layers towards specific cations was investigated by electrochemical capacitance measurement. Spin coating and evaporation methods of deposition were compared. The response curves of the devices were fitted using the site-binding model which allows to determine the surface ligand number and the complexation constant pK values. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.