Electrochemical assembly of multicomponent, redox-conductive metallopolymeric films with arbitrary three-dimensional control over macroscopic structure and chemical composition

Photolithographically-Patterned Electroactive Films and Electrochemically Modulated Diffraction Gratings

“…Redox Polymers. To the best of our knowledge, Hupp and co-workers were the first to report a method for creating arbitrary microscopic patterns of redox polymers on conducting substrates . Their method takes advantage of the photovoltage produced by band gap illumination of a semiconductor electrode to selectively electropolymerize redox-active transition metal complexes in areas that are being illuminated.…”

“…The first work that was carried out to create arbitrary 2-D patterns of conjugated polymers was reported by Honda and co-workers. − Using a method similar to that described by Hupp, the Honda group used the photovoltage produced by band gap illumination of TiO 2 and ZnO semiconductor electrodes to create arbitrary 2-D patterns of electropolymerized films of polypyrrole by illuminating the electrode through a lithography mask…”

“…Most work in the area of modified electrodes has focused on approaches to producing films that are spatially homogeneous in the plane defined by the electrode surface. − However, within the past decade a number of groups have devised methods for modifying electrodes with electroactive films that are microscopically patterned within the plane defined by a surface. ,− These methods include laser writing, − ,, e-beam writing, , photolithography, ,− ,− ,, microcontact printing, ink-jet printing, , and holography . Although these efforts have been motivated primarily by interest in basic science, it is possible to envision a number of technologically important uses for surfaces that are modified with microscopically patterned redox- or electronically-conducting polymer films such as fabrication of microelectronic or -photonic devices 31,41 or microsensor arrays …”