Microscopic orientational order of polymer chains in helical polyacetylene thin films studied by confocal laser raman microscopy

In order to study the internal structure of fibrils in helical polyacetylene thin films, we observed such films by confocal laser Raman microscopy (CLRM). The intensity of Raman signals depended greatly (similar to 15-fold at the most) on the polarization configuration of CLRM. We confirmed that fibrils in the films are composed of polyacetylene chains aligned along the long axes of the fibrils. We estimated the maximum value of the microscopic orientational order parameter, (P-2), to be 0.62. CLRM is a powerful tool for evaluating the microscopic orientation of conductive polymers with minimal sample preparation and high examination speed.