Electrogeneration and characterization of poly(3-methylthiophene)

Abstract

Results for a conducting polymer poly(3-methylthiophene) are presented with demonstration that the electrochemical deposition proceeds favourably through 3D instantaneous nucleation and growth. The polymer film is insulating at sufficiently negative 0.1 V or positive 1.6 V electrochemical potentials in propylene carbonate + LiClO4 solution. When the solution was H2SO4 the film was insulating in 0.5 V or 1.1 V. The macrogrowth occurred in three dimensions and showed disordered rough structures. According to the results for t < 1 s the fractal dimension D2 = 2.5 was obtained and for t > 1 s this parameter was 2.0. The band gap energy of these material is ≈ 1 eV characteristic for the polymer materials in oxidized state. This films have a lot of free charge carriers and this characteristic confers conductive properties to the material.