Longitudinal and Lateral Integration of Conducting Polymer Nanowire Arrays via Block-Copolymer-Templated Electropolymerization

Abstract

Pyrrole (Py) and thiophene derivatives were electropolymerized on a microphase-separated block copolymer [PEO-b-PMA(Az)]-coated ITO electrode in order to form corresponding conducting polymer nanostructures of perpendicularly oriented and hexagonally arranged cylinders as a template without the removal of one of the domains. Polypyrrole (PPy) nanowires grew through PEO cylindrical domains oriented perpendicular to the electrode to afford an array with an aspect ratio of up to 140 and a density of up to 4.4 × 10 12 wires/in. 2 . Long, straight π-stacked crystalline structures assigned to PPy main chains were observed in high-resolution TEM images of the individual wires. Additional elaborately crafted electropolymerization was demonstrated on a nanometer scale: (i) Stepwise electropolymerization of Py and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) afforded segmented PPy-poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and PEDOT-PPy wires with nanoheterojunctions and (ii) one-pot electropolymerization of a mixture of Py and 2,2′-bithiophene (BiTh), polymerized selectively and non-selectively in the PEO cylindrical domains, gave laterally composition-modulated structures, i.e., a PPy-poly(2,2′-bithiophene) (PBiTh) copolymer [P(Py-co-BiTh)] in the PEO cylindrical domains and PBiTh in the surrounding PMA(Az) domains. Both longitudinally segmented and laterally mosaic nanostructures of the conducting polymers can be fabricated just by utilizing the relative solubility of the monomers in the individual domains, herein called a chemical affinity template.

Fabrication of a Vertically Aligned Au Nanorod Array via Block‐Copolymer‐Templated Electroplating

“…Here, the fabrication of vertically aligned Au nanorod arrays via templated electroplating using an amphiphilic diblock copolymer film is reported. A PEO‐ b ‐PMA(Az) diblock copolymer, consisting of hydrophilic PEO and hydrophobic poly(methacrylate) bearing an azobenzene mesogen on the side chain (PMA(Az)), was employed as a template without a process for generating cylindrical nanopores because the cylindrical domains filled with undercooled PEO act as a nanoscale electrolytic reactor ,. Electroplating with a template is a useful method for simultaneously synthesizing and assembling vertically aligned Au nanorods on a substrate.…”

“…A PEO-b-PMA(Az) diblock copolymer, consisting of hydrophilic PEO and hydrophobic poly (methacrylate) bearing an azobenzene mesogen on the side chain (PMA(Az)), [34][35][36] was employed as a template without a process for generating cylindrical nanopores because the cylindrical domains filled with undercooled PEO act as a nanoscale electrolytic reactor. [37,38] Electroplating with a template is a useful method for simultaneously synthesizing and assembling vertically aligned Au nanorods on a substrate. Moreover, the length of Au nanorods is effectively controlled by electroplating time, enabling a systematic investigation of their characteristics.…”

Voltammetric dopamine sensor based on three-dimensional electrosynthesized molecularly imprinted polymers and polypyrrole nanowires

“…Choice of materials Aniline and pyrrole are the good monomers for polymer nanowires preparation, especially by the electropolymerization method [28,29]. Poly(aniline), although possessing good conductivity, it shows several pairs of redox peaks in the common used potential window for DA detection [26].…”

Electroactive ion exchange materials: current status in synthesis, applications and future prospects

“…The anodic porous alumina (AAO), 98 particle track-etched membranes, 99 block copolymers 100 and CNTs, 101 are usually employed as the hard template. The templates mainly include hard template and soft template.…”