Flexible contact stamp for electrical conductivity measurements of a soft matter

Abstract

Abstract In this communication, a simple homemade four probe conductivity setup has been presented to measure the electrical conductivity of molecularly grafted and passivated solid surfaces. Setup was also extended for the temperature dependent conductivity measurements by designing a small furnace using nichrome heating element. The importance of prepared setup lies in its easy designing ability, portability and reliability to measure the conductivity of soft matters. Setup was designed for four probe conductivity measurements which can be used for two probes conductivity measurements also, depending upon the requirements under investigation. Setup was tested using its four probes for electrochemically grafted indium tin oxide surfaces with thiol containing organic molecules and trichloroethylene passivated Si surface. It was found very sensitive even for observing small changes in current–voltage values whereas recorded curves were quite reproducible.