Influence of the Supramolecular Arrangement in the Electrical Conductivity of Poly(thiophene) Thin Films

• Published in: Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 460
• Main Authors: Braunger, Maria L, Alessio, Priscila, Furini, Leonardo N, Constantino, Carlos J L, Olivati, Clarissa A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Polythiophene; Electrical Conductivity; Langmuir-Schaefer
• ISSN: 1533-4880
• DOI: 10.1166/jnn.2017.12667

Thin films of regioregular polythiophene derivatives have had their optical, structural and morphological properties characterized, but there is still a lack of comparative studies to determine the effect from deposition techniques, especially on the electrical properties. In this study, we produced Langmuir-Schaefer and spin-coated films of regioregular alkyl-substituted polythiophene derivatives (P3AT) to investigate how distinct supramolecular arrangements can affect their properties. The Langmuir-Schaefer films deposited on indium-tin oxide substrates were observed to grow linearly with the number of layers, according to UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy and Brewster angle microscopy were carried out for morphological characterization. From electrical transport measurements, the DC electrical conductivity of Langmuir-Schaefer films of P3AT was higher than the corresponding spin-coated films, which can be related to the dissimilar roughness and molecular-level organization provided by the Langmuir-Schaefer technique.