Porous silicon and conductive polymer nanostructures via templating

Abstract

Conductive polymer nanostructures synthesized using porous silicon (PSi) templates are described, with an emphasis on PSi template advantages, pore-filling phenomenon, mechanism of polymerization, and selective removal of PSi to release the polymeric structures. The interaction of pyrrole monomers, as a case study, on the entire surface of PSi under both galvanostatic and potentiostatic deposition modes is presented with discussion on the processing issues associated with the electrochemical deposition process inside the pores. Additionally, various materials infiltrated into PSi templates are briefly described. Examples of free-standing conductive polymer structures formed by selective dissolution of PSi are provided.