Morphology of polythiophene and polyphenyl films produced via surface polymerization by ion-assisted deposition

Conducting polymer films are grown by either mass-selected or non-mass-selected, hyperthermal thiophene ions coincident on a surface with a thermal beam of organic monomers of either alpha-terthiophene (3T) or p-terphenyl (3P) neutrals. Previous experiments verified polymerization of both 3T and 3P by 200 eV C(4)H(4)S(+) during surface polymerization by ion-assisted deposition (SPIAD). A wide variety of structures are observed by scanning electron microscopy to form in the SPIAD polythiophene and polyphenyl films. These structures include microscale islands, lamellar structures, fractal-like growth patterns, and nanoscale crystallites. Some of the deposited films diffract X-rays while others show electron micrographs of crystallites. The variation of these patterns with deposition conditions clearly indicate that ion-induced polymerization mediates film morphology through control of ion energy and ion/neutral ratio. Furthermore, these ion-assisted events mediate important thermal processes such as sublimation.     

Surface polymerization by ion-assisted deposition for polythiophene film growth

Cationic polymerization is induced at the gas-solid interface by hyperthermal organic cations coincident on a surface with a thermal beam of organic monomers. This process, termed surface polymerization by ion-assisted deposition (SPIAD), produces films that maintain the chemical structure of the monomer. A polythiophene film is produced here by SPIAD with 100 eV thiophene ions and terthiophene monomers coincident on Si and indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates held under vacuum. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy observes enhancement in film growth for SPIAD compared with either thiophene ion or terthiophene exposure alone. Polythiophene films grown by both mass-selected and nonmass-selected ions with coincident terthiophene dosing both display similar fluorescence intensities at two wavelengths characteristic of emission from films of the terthiophene monomer. Raman spectra of films from nonmass-selected ions display several vibrations also observed in terthiophene films. Ions therefore play a critical role in film growth from nonmass-selected ions, in addition to any radical or photochemically driven processes that may also occur.     

Photoemission studies of polythiophene and polyphenyl films produced via surface polymerization by ion-assisted deposition

Conducting polymer films are grown by mass-selected, hyperthermal thiophene ions coincident on a surface with a thermal beam of organic monomers of either alpha-terthiophene (3T) or p-terphenyl (3P) neutrals. Mass spectrometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy previously verified polymerization of both 3T and 3P by 200 eV C(4)H(4)S(+) during surface polymerization by ion-assisted deposition (SPIAD). The electronic structure of these films are probed here by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and polarized near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) and compared with similar spectra of evaporated films. The conducting polymer films formed by SPIAD display new valence band features resulting from a reduction in both their band gap and barrier to hole injection, which are calculated from the occupied and unoccupied valence band states measured by UPS and NEXAFS. These changes in film electronic structure result from an increase in the electron conjugation length and other changes in film structure induced by SPIAD.     

LOW POTENTIAL ELECTROPOLYMERIZATION OF ANISOTROPIC CONDUCTIVE POLYTHIOPHENE FILMS AND FABRICATION OF ELECTRICAL DEVICES

The complexation of thiophene with a Lewis acid with moderate acidity as a solvent, such as BF_3-ethyl ether (BFEE) remarkedly lowered the electrochemical polymerization potential. The positively chargedmetal surface of electrode in the process of electrochemical deposition enhanced the coordination interactionbetween π-electrons of thiophene unit and the metal, which makes thiophene rings lie parallel to the surfaceof electrode, resulting in a highly ordered polymeric structure. Because of the large intra-chain transferintegrals, the transport of charge is believed to be principally along the conjugated chains, which is muchgreater than the inter-chain hopping. The specific electrical resistance across the polythiophene film thicknessis more than 10~4 times than that along the surface plane of the film. In this paper we review the recentdevelopment of polymerization technique by low potential electrochemical method performed in our lab andseveral electrical devices in which the compact polythiophene films, such as anionic and cationic sieves, andlaminate film junction of undoped polythiophene derivatives were used.     

Photovoltaic Behaviour of Titanyl Phthalocyanine Thin Films and Titania Bilayer Films

Summary: Titanyl phthalocyanine (TiOPc) thin films were prepared using evaporation and surface polymerization by ion-assisted deposition (SPIAD) in a vacuum deposition system. These films were characterized by means of ultraviolet and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as well as UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy. Valence band and elemental content indicated that phthalocyanine electronic and chemical structures were largely preserved during SPIAD. Further, bilayer thin films of titania (TiO₂) and SPIAD TiOPc were prepared. TiO₂ film was deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering of TiO₂ target. Study of the structured samples was focused on the optical and electrical properties of the composite films. The films were characterized by non-contact photovoltage measurements and UV-Vis spectroscopy. These results suggest there is a possibility to use these bilayer thin films in photovoltaic solar cells, however further experiments to improve conductivity of the films will be required.     

水溶液电化学法制得的聚噻吩的表征

以剖层X光电子能谱(XPS)及红外光指(FTIR)为主要手段对高氯酸水溶液中电化学聚合的聚噻吩进行表征,表明有羰基及键合氯存在,并讨论了聚合过程。     

Polythiophene-coated nano-silicon composite anodes with enhanced performance for lithium-ion batteries

Herein, a new polythiophene-coated silicon composite anode material was prepared by in situ chemical oxidation polymerization method. The structure of this material was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, which proved that the oxidative polymerization of thiophene occurred mainly in α position. The polythiophene can provide the better electric contact between silicon particles. Therefore, the as-prepared Si/polythiophene composite electrodes achieve better cycling performance than the bare Si anode. The specific capacity of the composite electrode retains 478 mA h g^?1 after 50 cycles.     

Characterization of Conducting Copolymer of Thiophene via Pyrolysis Mass Spectrometry

In this work, structural and thermal characterization of a conducting copolymer of thiophene (PTh) with 2‐methylbutyl‐2‐(3‐thienyl)acetate prepared by two different methods has been performed by pyrolysis mass spectrometry techniques. The pyrolysis mass spectrometry data of both components of the copolymer, polythiophene, PTh, poly(2‐methylbutyl‐2‐(3‐thienyl)acetate), PMBTA and PTh/PMBTA have been analyzed and compared. It has been determined that when the electrochemical polymerization of thiophene was achieved on PMBTA coated anode through the thiophene moieties of PMBTA, characteristics of both PTh and PMBTA were retained to a certin extent. However, when thiophene was polymerized in the presence of MBTA, a polymer film with lower conductivity, but more uniform structure, was produced.     

Highly ordered polymer films of amphiphilic, regioregular polythiophene derivatives

The fabrication and characterization of highly ordered thin films made from amphiphilic, regioregular polythiophene derivatives are described. Films of poly(3-(11-(2-tetrahydropyranyloxy)undecyl)thiophene (PTHPUDT) were prepared by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. The amphiphilic nature of the polymer affords layer-by-layer deposition and the formation of multilayer films of head-to-head and tail-to-tail Y-type structure. X-ray diffraction studies indicate bilayer separations of approximately 30 A. Anisotropic optical absorption in the plane of the film indicates that the thiophene backbones are preferentially oriented along the dipping direction. Further, polarized light microscopy studies indicate that these films are highly birefringent and that the optical retardation is uniform over the entire film. Ellipsometry studies confirm the sizable magnitude of the birefringence. Optical second-harmonic generation studies of multilayer films provide information regarding both the thiophene orientation within the film and the anisotropic distribution of chromophores in the surface plane. Taken together, these data offer strong evidence of highly ordered films in which the hydrophobic polythiophene chains lie parallel to the substrate surface with their alkyl chains oriented normal to the surface, as dictated by the hydrophilic nature of the alkyl chain's terminal tetrahydropyran functional group. As such, these films offer the potential for elucidating the connection between polymer morphology and physical property in materials that are otherwise subject to a sufficiently complex distribution of morphologies that such a correspondence is precluded.     

Electrochemical preparation of polythiophene via 2,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)thiophene

Electrochemical polymerization of 2,5-bis(trimethylsilyl) thiophene produced highly conducting films which showed infrared spectra, visible-near infrared absorption spectra, and cyclic voltammograms identical to films prepared from thiophene. Elemental analysis indicated that almost all silicon atoms were eliminated during the electrochemical polymerization. However, scanning electron microscopy showed a morphological difference between the films from 2,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)thiophene and from thiophene. The electrochemical polymerization of bis(2-thienyl)dimethylsilane, 1,2-bis(2-thienyl)tetramethyldisilane, and bis(2-thienyl)diphenylsilane also produced polythiophene films having unique morphologies quite different from the conventional ones. These findings indicate that these electrochemical procedures must be useful for preparation of new conjugated polymers. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Low energy ion bombardment of Ti and TiNx films

The influence of low energy ion bombardment on TiN_x film growth and film properties was investigated. The discharge was characterized using Langmuir probe technique as well as energy resolved mass spectrometry with a plasma monitor (Hiden HAL 301 S/EQP). The deposited films were investigated by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Increasing the N₂ gas flow as well as increasing the negative substrate voltage at constant gas flow effect an increase of the N/Ti ratio in the films determined by XPS. The influence of the energy flux to the surface due to ion bombardment was mainly recognized in the substructure of the films. In addition, pure Ti films were modified by nitrogen ion bombardment after deposition using an ion gun. An increase of the N/Ti ratio was observed with increasing ion energy. Finally saturation is reached.     

噻吩光电化学聚合的研究

噻吩在水溶液中先经低聚反应,生成的低聚合物再在阳极氧化成膜,光照可促进低聚合物的形成,使噻吩在Pt、Au基低上选择性地进行光电聚合。即在低于噻吩电聚合电位下,形成明显光照点的聚噻吩膜。     

Improved Energy Conversion Efficiency of ZnO/Polythiophene Solar Cell in Ga-Doped ZnO Nanorod Array Photoanode

We reported the fabrication and doping effect of Ga-doped ZnO nanorods/electropolymerized polythio-phene(e-PT) hybrid photovoltaic(h-PV) devices. Ga-Doped ZnO nanorod array photoanode devices were fabricated via hydrothermally growing nanorods on sol-gel spin-coating ZnO seed layer, and then the nanorod array was immersed into a thiophene solution to yield a thin polythiophene film by electrochemically polymerization. Afterwards, a thin layer of Al was deposited on the surface of polythiophene to make an electrode for photovoltaic measurement. The ZnO nanorods with different Ga-doping contents were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron micrograph(SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). Photovoltaic J-V characterization was performed on the e-PT/ZnO bilayer and bulk heterojunction(BHJ) devices. Though the unsubstituted polythiophene is not an ideal polymer material for solar cells with high power conversion efficiency, it is a sound model for the study on the effect of dopant in hybrid materials. The results indicate that doping Ga can substantially improve the power conversion efficiency of the ZnO-polythiophene solar cell.     

具有辐射聚合能力的HfO2/SiO2溶胶-凝胶玻璃的制备及其X射线光刻性能研究

采用溶胶-凝胶方法制备了一种新颖的具有辐射聚合能力的HfO2/SiO2凝胶薄膜. 并采用X射线作曝光光源对薄膜进行了曝光, 通过FTIR的测试, 分析了薄膜曝光前后的结构变化. 结果表明, 该材料具有良好的辐射聚合能力. 采用XPS分析了薄膜的成分, 并证实了Hf元素的存在. 用椭偏仪测试了薄膜的折射率, 结果证实, 加入HfO2提高了体系的折射率. 利用其辐射聚合能力, 采用X射线通过掩模板进行曝光, 利用曝光部分与未曝光部分在溶剂中的溶解度差, 在薄膜上制备了高为0.8 μm、周期为1 μm的衍射光栅, 进一步证实了材料具有良好的辐射聚合能力.     

The Electrochemical Polymerization of Thiophene in Aqueous Sotations of an Acid

People are more and more interested in polythiophene because of its night stability.At present,organic solvent system is still commonly used in electrochemical polymerization of thiophene and the related electrochemical studies.However,it is more practical to use aqueous solutions instead of organic solvents.The electrochemical polymerization of thiophene in aqueous solution of acid is discussed in this paper.In highly concentrated acidic solution,thiophene first undergoes low polymerization,and then the low polymer can be oxidized at the comparatively negative potential to form film.     

The effect of positive ion energy on plasma polymerization: a comparison between acrylic and propionic acids

Using a novel RF biasing technique, the energy of positive ions at a depositing substrate is controlled, independently of other parameters. Under bias conditions which gave the maximum and minimum ion energies, plasmas of propionic and acrylic acid were investigated using mass spectrometry, an ion flux probe, quartz crystal microbalance, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). For both compounds investigated, the ion energy affects the deposition rate but leaves the neutral gas-phase chemistry and positive ion fluxes unchanged. The chemistry of the polymer deposit for acrylic acid is unaffected by the change in ion energy, but the chemistry of the propionic acid plasma polymer changes markedly. We argue that the results presented are consistent with the hypothesis that, under the plasma conditions explored, the carbon-carbon double bond present in acrylic acid plays a significant role in the formation of the polymer. Conversely, the absence of this bond in propionic acid leads us to conclude that positive ions contribute significantly to film formation for this compound.     

Design of experiment for optimization of plasma-polymerized octafluorocyclobutane coating on very high aspect ratio silicon molds

As-fabricated deep reactive ion etched (DRIE) silicon mold with very high aspect ratio (>10) feature patterns is unsuitable for poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) replication because of the strong interaction between the Si surface and the replica and the corrugated mold sidewalls. The silicon mold can be conveniently passivated via plasma polymerization of octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8), which is also employed in the DRIE process itself, to enable the mold to be used repeatedly. To optimize the passivation conditions, we have undertaken a Box-Behnken experimental design on the basis of three passivation process parameters (plasma power, C4F8 flow rate, and deposition time). The measured responses were fluorinated film thickness, demolding status/success, demolding force, and fluorine/carbon ratio on the fifth replica surface. The optimal passivation process conditions were predicted to be an input power of 195 W, a C4F8 flow rate of 57 sccm, and a deposition time of 364 s; these were verified experimentally to have high accuracy. Demolding success requires medium-deposited film thickness (66-91 nm), and the thickness of the deposited films correlated strongly with deposition time. At moderate to high ranges, increased plasma power or gas flow rate promoted polymerization over reactive etching of the film. It was also found that small quantities of the fluorinated surface were transferred from the Si mold to the PDMS at each replication, entailing progressive wear of the fluorinated layer.     

Molecular adsorption and the chemistry of plasma-deposited thin organic films: Deposition of oligomers of ethylene glycol

Weakly ionized, radio-frequency, glow-discharge plasmas formed from methyl ether or the vapors of a series of dimethyl oligo(ethylene glycol) precursors (general formula: H-(CH₂OCH₂)_n-H;n=1 to 4) were used to deposit organic thin films on polytetrafluoroethylene. X-ray photoelecton spectroscopy (XPS) and static secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) of the thin films were used to infer the importance of adsorption of molecular species from the plasma onto the surface of the growing, organic film during deposition. Films were prepared by plasma deposition of each precursor at similar deposition conditions (i.e., equal plasma power (W), precursor flow rate (F), and deposition duration), and at conditions such that the specific energy (energy/mass) of the discharge (assumed to be constrained byW/FM, whereM=molecular weight of the precursor) was constant. At constantW/FM conditions, two levels of plasma power (and, hence, twoFM levels) and three substrate temperatures were examined. By controlling the energy of the discharge (W/FM) and the substrate temperature, these experiments enabled the study of effects of the size and the vapor pressure of the precursor on the film chemistry. The atomic % of oxygen in the film surface, estimated by XPS, and the intensity of theC-O peak in the XPS C_ls spectra of the films, were used as indicators of the degree of incorporation of precursor moieties into the plasma-deposited films. Analysis of films by SIMS suggested that these two measures obtained from XPS were good indicators of the degree of retention in the deposited films of functional groups from the precursors. The XPS and SIMS data suggest that adsorption of intact precursor molecules or fragments of precursor molecules during deposition can have a significant effect on film chemistry. Plasma deposition of low vapor pressure precursors provides a convenient way of producing thin films with predictable chemistry and a high level of retention of functional groups from the precursor.     

Temporal evolution of an electron-free afterglow in the pulsed plasma polymerisation of acrylic acid

By use of time and energy-resolved mass spectrometry, negative ions with masses ranging from m/z = 1-287 amu have been observed in the afterglow of a low-pressure (10 mTorr) pulsed acrylic acid polymerizing plasma. The most intense peaks, seen at m/z = 71, 143, 215, and 287, are assigned to the dehydrogenated oligomer of the form [nM-H](-) for n = 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The results strongly suggest that both m/z = 71 and 143 ions are produced in the on period of the pulse cycle (0.1 ms duration), with higher masses m/z = 215 and 287 being produced by neutral ion chemistry in the off period (up to 40 ms in duration). The increase in the intensity of the [3M-H](-) and [4M-H](-) peaks in the off period is accompanied by a rapid fall in the concentration of [M-H]- ions and electrons, the latter decreasing from approximately 10(15) m(-3) to zero within 150 micros. Deep into the afterglow, Langmuir probe measurements show that the charge species only consist of positive and negative ions, present at equal concentrations in excess of approximately 10(14) m(-3) even after 10 ms that is, the plasma is wholly electron free. To describe the growth of large negative ions a number of possible ion-neutral chemical pathways have been postulated, and a calculation of the ambipolar diffusion rates to the walls suggests that, in the off period, the positive and negative ion contribution to the deposition rate is small ( approximately 1%) compared to the net total deposition rate. However, the observations do indicate that it may be necessary to update models of film growth in the pulsed plasma polymerization of acrylic acid to account for negative ions.     

Electrodeposited polythiophene films provide reproducible samples for laser desorption ion trap mass spectrometry studies

Electrodeposited polythiophene films can provide consistent laser desorption signal levels for over 20,000 laser shots on one position of a probe tip in an ion trap. A similar lack of signal decay was observed for multiple positions on the same film. The consistency and longevity of the ion signal resulting from laser desorption of a polythiophene film are much greater than those typically obtained from simple solution residue samples. Uniform, electrodeposited polythiophene films can provide a great reduction in the uncertainty of ion production that has previously been associated with ion trapping studies utilizing laser desorption.