Electropolymerized films of 3-methoxythiophene with a potential sweep-induced gold-like luster

Abstract

Novel electropolymerized films that naturally appeared gold-like and possessed lustrous green color tones were prepared by the cyclic potential-sweep electropolymerization of 3-methoxythiophene. The polymerized products were characterized by different instrumentation techniques, which identified them as oligo(3-methoxythiophene) containing perchlorate and dodecyl sulfate anions. The optical and structural analyses demonstrated that the films consisted of edge-on and face-on lamellar structures of the oligomers, and that the edge-on structures contributed to the development of the gold-like luster. The role of the cyclic potential sweep was interpreted as the preferential destruction of the face-on lamellar structures and a contribution to the increasing effects of the edge-on lamellar structures.