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Scanning probe microscope imaging of polyaniline thin films in non‐contact mode
Author(s) -
Porter T. L.,
Sykes A. G.,
Caple G.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.740211113
Subject(s) - polyaniline , materials science , microscope , scanning probe microscopy , thin film , nanotechnology , optics , composite material , polymer , physics , polymerization
The structure of electropolymerized thin films of polyaniline has been studied using the techniques of contact and non‐contact scanning probe microscopy (SPM). Films exposed to Ir + cations in solution, as well as unexposed films, were examined. Contact‐mode SPM images of these films reveal only a diffuse, amorphous surface structure in both types of film, while non‐contact SPM images indicate an intricate, nanometer‐scale domain structure. Film growth is in a layer‐by‐layer mode, with each layer consisting of small polymer bundles of average dimension 1000 ± 75 Å. The Ir + incorporation in these films does not involve a restructuring of the film morphology. The relevance of the microscopic domain structure to models describing conduction mechanisms in these films is also discussed.