Abstract
A study is reported on Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films obtained by adding different percentages of stearic acid (SA) to poly(3-octylhiophene) (P3OT). Surface pressure - mean molecular area (π - A) isotherms, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectrum, atomic force microscope (AFM) and dc electrical measurements have been used for characterization. From π - A isotherms, the area per monomer for condensed films (of SA) increased according to P3OT amount. Good transfer ratios were obtained for LB deposition from P3OT/SA films with higher percentage of SA. LB films revealed linear growth as monitored by UV-Vis absorption spectra. Electrical characterization showed higher conductivity for LB film with 54 wt.% of SA. AFM images of the same film revealed high roughness and presence of large size agglomerates. Finally, interdigitated electrodes (IDE) coated with P3OT/SA LB films showed to be sensitive to the presence of volatile organic compounds.
Highlights
Semiconducting conjugated polymers have drawn much attention due to their unique electrical and optical properties, reasonable chemical stability, and easy processability[1]
We report the fabrication of P3OT LB films by adding stearic acid (SA)
If thiophene rings are oriented in parallel to water surface, the area per repeat unit would be around 28 Å2,21
Summary
Semiconducting conjugated polymers have drawn much attention due to their unique electrical and optical properties, reasonable chemical stability, and easy processability[1]. These unique properties of conjugated polymers enable the development of several electronic devices, such as Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), photovoltaic cells, transistors, sensors and biosensors[2,3,4,5]. The regioregular polythiophenes are good alternatives for sensors fabrication in relation to other semiconducting polymers This can be attributed to the way they organize, since small changes in conformational order and solidstate organization should cause significant changes in conductivity, promoting excellent sensitivity[19]. P3OT/SA LB films were tested toward the detection of VOCs showing good technological potential for the development of gas sensors
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