AVS 49th International Symposium
    Nanotubes: Science and Applications Topical Conference Tuesday Sessions
       Session NT-TuA

Paper NT-TuA7
Synthesis and Properties of Plasma-polymerized Polypyrrole / Au Nanotube Composite Structures

Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 4:00 pm, Room C-209

Session: Nanotubes: Mechanical Properties, NEMS
Presenter: J. Zhou, Colorado State University
Authors: J. Zhou, Colorado State University
E.R. Fisher, Colorado State University
Correspondent: Click to Email
Composite nanostructures have a wide variety of potential applications in microelectronics, chemical sensors, and electrochemical energy production. Here, we report the synthesis of composite plasma-polymerized polypyrrole (PPPy)/Au nanotubes. The characteristics of both the PPPy films and the nanostructured composites have been investigated using FTIR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and SEM. The gas phase species in the plasma have been investigated with mass spectrometry. The properties of PPPy films mostly depend on the applied plasma parameters, with both ring-opening reactions and the polymerization of pyrrole taking place simultaneously in the plasma. Decreasing the applied plasma power favors the retention of the rings of the pyrrole monomer. Mass spectra suggest that the plasma polymerization of pyrrole takes place on the substrate surface due to the diffusion of radicals produced in the plasma. In addition, thermal treatment after polymerization has been shown to enhance the conductivity of PPPy films. Thermally treated PPPy films can be partially oxidized or reduced electrochemically due to the exchange between cations and anions of PPPy films. From SEM analysis, it is apparent that reconstruction of PPPy films occurs after thermal treatment. However, non-thermally treated PPPy films coated on Au nanotubes demonstrate well-defined redox reversible peaks as results of the increasing of the interface areas between the surface of the PPPy films and electrolyte solution. The implications of these results for potential devices will also be presented.