Abstract
Anode geometry can significantly affect the electrochemical synthesis of conductive polymers. Here, the effects of anode dimensions on the electropolymerization of pyrrole are investigated. Band microelectrodes were prepared with widths ranging from 2 to 500 μm. The anode dimension has a significant effect on the resulting thickness of polymer film. The electropolymerization process deviates significantly from that predicted by simple mass transfer considerations when electrode dimensions are less than ∼20 μm. Polymer film thickness is thinner than expected when electrode dimensions become less than ∼10 μm. A simple mathematical model was derived to explain the observed effects of anode dimensions on the polymerization process. Simulation results confirm that diffusive loss of reaction intermediates accounts for the observed experimental trends. The described simulation facilitates understanding of the electropolymerization processes and approaches to the controlled deposition of polypyrrole, particularly at the submicron scale, for microelectromechanical systems and biomedical applications.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 124312 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Physics |
Volume | 105 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |
Funding
This research was supported by NIH (Grant No. EB000657). A portion of this research was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is sponsored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by the Division of Scientific User Facilities, U.S. Department of Energy. M.L.S. acknowledges the support from the Materials Sciences and Engineering Division Program of the DOE Office of Science. This work was performed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. DOE under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725.
Funders | Funder number |
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National Institutes of Health | EB000657 |
U.S. Department of Energy | DE-AC05-00OR22725 |
Office of Science | |
Basic Energy Sciences | |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory |