Electrochemical and morphological study of the effect of polymerization conditions on poly(terthiophene)

Electropolymerization of terthiophene was carried out in various solvents on carbon fiber microelectrodes, platinum and gold electrodes. Acetonitrile was found to be the most suitable solvent for film formation. The effect of sweep rate and supporting electrolyte on the electropolymerization is discussed. The surface morphology of electrografted carbon fiber microelectrodes was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Carbon fiber electrodes were found to be an effective microelectrode system for the electropolymerization of terthiophene in acetonitrile. Varying the electropolymerization conditions enables the morphology of the polymer coating on the carbon fibers to be modified on the nanometer scale, and these modifications be detected by AFM.