INSITU VIDEO RECORDING OF THE NUCLEATION ENHANCEMENT IN THE ELECTROPOLYMERIZATION OF 3-METHYLTHIOPHENE

A new electrochemical technique, in situ video recording of electrochemical processes, is described and applied to the study of the nucleation of 3-methylthiophene on indium-tin oxide (ITO). The method utilizes a video camera attached to a microscope for recording processes occurring at optically transparent electrodes. The recordings are then later analysed with an image processing program. Application to the polymerization reveals that on bare clean ITO only a small amount of nuclei are formed and they are unevenly distributed on the surface, the process being enhanced by surface irregularities. Nucleation on ITO can be artificially enhanced either by using high initial current pulses or by modifying the electrode surface with thiophene-containing species.