Ozonization of electronic conducting polymers: II. Degradation or doping

The ozonization of poly[3-pentylthiophene], poly[3-heptylthiophene] and poly[3-nonylthiophene] was carried out in room temperature. The DC conductivity changes during the ozonization have been recorded, revealing significant conductivity increase (up to two orders of magnitude). Moreover, an analysis of electron microscopy images has shown that ozone related swelling of polymer bundles caused the granular structure of the samples to fade away. The analysis of FTIR spectra indicated the presence of physisorbed ozone as well as oxidative degradation products in the ozonized polymer samples.