Synthesis and characterization of p-toluenesulfonate incorporated poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), a conducting polymer, was electrochemically synthesized with p-toluenesulfonate (TSNa) as a dopant on gold surface. The electrochemical properties of the polymer were studied by impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry (CV). It was found that the impedance magnitude of the electrode significantly decreased over a wide range of frequency from 10⁰ to 10⁴ Hz after the polymer deposition. The CV demonstrated enhanced reversibility of the PEDOT film. The surface morphology was investigated by scanning electronic microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). Due to the effect of TSNa structure, nano-fungus was observed. Polymerization time was optimized and 30 min deposition resulted in the highest charge capacity, showing the highest electroactive surface area, possibly due to its porous structured polymer. Moreover, the high specific surface area could be favorable for cell attachment. The stability of PEDOT in glutathione (GSH), a common biologically relevant reducing agent, was studied with polypyrrole (PPy) as a baseline. It showed that the former had much better stability than the latter and it could be an excellent candidate for potential applications of in vivo neural devices.