Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T01:15:24.882Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Fabrication and Evaluation of Conducting Polymer Nanowire Heterostructures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Yevgeny Berdichevsky
Affiliation:
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Dr., MC: 0409 La Jolla, CA 92093
Y.-H. Lo
Affiliation:
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Dr., MC: 0409 La Jolla, CA 92093
Get access

Abstract

Conducting polymer nanostructures such as nanofibers and nanotubes have potential uses in a variety of applications including electronic and photonic devices and sensors. Conducting polymers have also been used as artificial muscles. In this work, template synthesis method for fabricating solid polypyrrole nanowires and polypyrrole-gold nanowire heterostructures is demonstrated to explore suitability of these structures as nano-artificial muscles or nanoactuators. Polypyrrole nanowires are evaluated in an aqueous electrolyte to see if they retain the ability to expand and contract under electrochemical cycling. Template synthesis is then used to alternatively electroplate gold and electropolymerize polypyrrole in the pores of an alumina membrane to create layered polypyrrole-gold nanowires.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Martin, C. R., Parthasarathy, R., and Menon, V., “Template Synthesis of Electronically Conductive Polymers - a New Route for Achieving Higher Electronic Conductivities,” Synthetic Metals, 55-57, 11651170, 1993.Google Scholar
2 Martin, C. R., “Template Synthesis of Electronically Conductive Polymer Nanostructures,” Acc. Chem. Res., 28, 6168, 1995.Google Scholar
3 Schönenberger, C., Zande, B. M. I. van der, Fokkink, L. G. J., Henny, M., Schmid, C., Krüger, M., Bachtold, A., Huber, R., Birk, H., and Staufer, U., “Template Synthesis of Nanowires in Porous Polycarbonate Membranes: Electrochemistry and Morphology,” J. Phys. Chem. B, 101, 54975505, 1997.Google Scholar
4 Demoustier-Champagne, S. and Stavaux, P., “Effect of Electrolyte Concentration and Nature on the Morphology and the Electrical Properties of Electropolymerized Polypyrrole Nanotubules,” Chem. Mater., 11, 829834, 1999.Google Scholar
5 Lu, M., Li, X., Li, H., “Synthesis and characterization of conducting copolymer nanofibrils of pyrrole and 3-methilthiophene using the template-synthesis method, Materials Science and Engineering, A334, 291297, 2002.Google Scholar
6 Joo, J. et al., “Conducting Polymer Nanotube and Nanowire Synthesized by Using Nanoporous Template: Synthesis, Characteristics, and Applications,” Synthetic Metals, 135-136, 7-9, 2003. J13.4.5 Google Scholar
7 Otero, T. F. and Sansiñena, J. M., “Artificial muscles based on conducting polymers,” Bioelectrochem. Bioen., 38, 411, 1995.Google Scholar
8 Baughman, R. H., “Conducting polymer artificial muscles,” Synthetic Metals, 78, 339353, 1996.Google Scholar
9 Berdichevsky, Y. and Lo, Y.-H., “Fabrication of polypyrrole nanowires,” Proc. Of SPIE: Smart Structures and Materials 2005: Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD), 5759, 2005.Google Scholar
10 Pei, Q. and Inganäs, O., “Electrochemical Applications of the Bending Beam Method. 2. Electroshrinking and Slow Relaxation in Polypyrrole,” J. Phys. Chem., 97, 60346041, 1193.Google Scholar
11 Smela, E., “Microfabrication of PPy microactuators and other conjugated polymer devices,” J. Micromech. Microeng., 9, 118, 1999.Google Scholar