Characterization of the surface modifications of conducting poly(3-octylthiophene) films by contact angle measurements

The surface modifications of poly(3-octylthiophene) films doped with various solutions of gold trichloride in nitromethane were analysed by contact angle measurements. This technique allows the different components of the surface energy to be determined. The correlation between the evolutions of surface energy components and the conductivity variations show that the contact angle measurement technique enables a doped film to be differentiated from an undoped one. For a conductivity range higher than or equal to 10−3 S/cm, this comparison also reveals a difference in conductivity of about one decade between two films.