title: Gradient doping of conducting polymer films by means of bipolar electrochemistry.
abstract: In this paper, we report a novel electrochemical doping method for conducting polymer films based on bipolar electrochemistry. The electrochemical doping of conducting polymers such as poly(3-methylthiophene) (PMT), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), and poly(aniline) (PANI) on a bipolar electrode having a potential gradient on its surface successfully created gradually doped materials. In the case of PEDOT film, the color change at the anodic side was also observed to be gradually transparent. PANI film treated by the bipolar doping gave a multicolored gradation across the film. The results of UV-vis and energy dispersive X-ray analyses for the doped films supported the distribution of dopants in the polymer films reflecting the potential gradient on the bipolar electrode. Furthermore, the reversibility of the bipolar doping of the PMT film was demonstrated by a spectroelectrochemical investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic Chemistry, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8502 Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inagi
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fuchigami
mesh_terms: D004553:Electric Conductivity; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers