Electrochemical characterization of sub-micro-gram amounts of organic semiconductors using scanning droplet cell microscopy

Scanning droplet cell microscopy (SDCM) uses a very small electrolyte droplet at the tip of a capillary which comes in contact with the working electrode. This method is particularly interesting for studies on organic semiconductors since it provides localized electrochemical investigations with high reproducibility. One clear advantage of applying SDCM is represented by the very small amounts of material necessary (less than 1 mg). Organic materials can be investigated quickly and inexpensively in electrochemical studies with a high throughput. In the present study, thin layers of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), which is one of the most often used material for organic solar cells, were deposited on ITO/glass as working electrodes in SDCM studies. The redox reactions in 0.1 M tetra(n-butyl)ammonium hexafluorophosphate (TBAPF6) dissolved in propylene carbonate were studied by cyclic voltammetry and by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Two reversible, distinct oxidation steps of the P3HT were detected and their kinetics were studied in detail. The doping of P3HT increased due to the electrochemical oxidation and had resulted in a decrease of the film resistance by a few orders of magnitude. Due to localization on the sample various parameter combinations can be studied quantitatively and reproducibly.