Structure and electrical properties of undoped oriented poly(phenylene vinylene) films

The influence of anisotropic structure on the electrical properties of undoped oriented poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV) films was investigated with impedance spectroscopy and structural characterization. The oriented structure of the stretched PPV films was studied with wave-guide coupling and infrared dichroism. It was found that the unstretched PPV film had a highly planar structure, and one-way stretching converted the planar structure into a uniaxial structure. The impedance of undoped PPV thin films was measured along three different directions: through the film thickness direction, parallel to the stretch direction in the film plane, and perpendicular to the stretch direction in the film plane. Two relaxations were observed, one corresponding to the bulk behavior in the high-frequency range and the other to an interfacial contact polarization in the low-frequency range. From equivalent circuit modeling, it was found that the bulk conductivity through the film thickness direction decreased with increasing orientation, whereas the high-frequency dielectric constant through the film direction remained constant. In addition, the conductivities measured in the film plane were at least two orders of magnitude higher than the conductivity in the direction normal to the film surface. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 98–116, 2004