Atomic Force Microscopy Study of Conductive Polymers

Edgar Ap. Sanches Osvaldo N. Oliveira Jr and Fabio Lima Leite  

This chapter aims to explore the major studies using AFM for conductive polymers, focusing on the application of images and force spectroscopy for nanostmctured films, nanostructures, and sensors. 

Nanostmctured Conductive Polymers Edited by Ali Eftekhaii 2010 John Wiley Sons, Ltd 

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Atomic Force Microscopy Study of Conductive Polymers... 

Since the early 1980s, the number of variants to the above that have been developed are manifold and, therefore, only a brief introduction to the technique is possible here. To exploit the potential of STM fully, the sample needs to be both flat and conducting, and hence it is not widely used for the study of polymers. However, a variant of the technique has become very widely used—atomic force microscopy (AFM). In many ways, AFM is derived from surface proliloinelry. in which a stylus is scanned across the... 

S.Y. Hong and S.M. Park, Electrochemistry of conductive polymers 36. pH dependence of polyaniline conductivities studied by current-sensing atomic force microscopy. J. Phys. Chem. B, 109, 9305 (2005). 

Like all types of polymers, conductive polymers are first characterised by spectroscopic techniques, and this is of particular importance for nanostructured materials too. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful (and relatively inexpensive) microscopic technique for surface studies at nanoscale, and sometimes this is essential for the investigation of conductive polymers. Despite available limitations, progress in nanodevices has provided... 

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electrochemical atomic force microscopy (ECAFM) have proven usefiil for the study of nucleation and growth of electrodeposited CP films on A1 alloy [59]. AFM was used to study adhesion between polypyrrole and mild steel [60], whereas electric force microscopy (EFM) has been used to study local variations in the surface potential (work function) of CP films [61]. AFM with a conductive tip permits a nanoscale AC impedance measurement of polymer and electrolyte interfaces, permitting differentiation between highly conductive amorphous regions and less-conductive crystalline regions of the CP film [62]. 

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