Polymer films applications

The electrochemistry of conducting polymers has been the subject of several reviews2-8 and has been included in articles on chemically modified electrodes.9-14 The primary purpose of this chapter is to review fundamental aspects of the electrochemistry of conducting polymer films. Applications, the diversity of materials available, and synthetic methods are not covered in any detail. No attempt has been made at a comprehensive coverage of the relevant literature and the materials that have been studied. Specific examples have been selected to illustrate general principles, and so it can often be assumed that other materials will behave similarly. 

The thickness of the film that can be produced by flexo is limited both by the transfer process and the ability to cure the material. Thermal curing is effective for films up to 1 pim thick, which is sufficient for a wide range of polymer film applications. Adding photoinitiator and a cross-hnking or polymerizing ent makes UV curing of films 2-3 times as thick possible at high speed [23]. 

Applications. Most of the stilbene-based polyquiaolines display photoresponsive (98) and photomechanical effects as manifested by a contraction ia polymer film samples upon kradiation. 

There are five classes of fuel cells. Like batteries, they differ in the electrolyte, which can be either liquid (alkaline or acidic), polymer film, molten salt, or ceramic. As Table 1 shows, each type has specific advantages and disadvantages that make it suitable for different applications. Ultimately, however, the fuel cells that win the commercialization race will be those that are the most economical. 

The rest of this chapter will focus primarily on results using the soluble PPV-based polymer MEH-PPV. The results obtained for MEH-PPV are typical of the conjugated polymers used in LEDs. The models and results presented are generally applicable. They describe the operation of a wide range of polymer LEDs if the appropriate polymer film properties arc used. 

During sample preparation one needs simple techniques to characterize the prepared films with respect to thickness, roughness and lateral homogeneity. This can be achieved by standard techniques like ST, ELLI, PMIM or XR which are commercially available for laboratory use and which can be applied with relative ease. Examples of polymer films and their parameters as well as various applications of the described techniques to polymeric surface and interface problems will be described in the following section. 

The rqjroducibility of polymer film formation is greatly improved by the spin coating technique where the polymer solution is applied by a microsyringe onto the center of a rapidly rotated disk electrode Rather thick films can be produced by repeated application of small volumes of stock solution. A thorough discussion and detailed experimental description of a reliable spin coating procedure was given recently... 

Laser ablation of polymer films has been extensively investigated, both for application to their surface modification and thin-film deposition and for elucidation of the mechanism [15]. Dopant-induced laser ablation of polymer films has also been investigated [16]. In this technique ablation is induced by excitation not of the target polymer film itself but of a small amount of the photosensitizer doped in the polymer film. When dye molecules are doped site-selectively into the nanoscale microdomain structures of diblock copolymer films, dopant-induced laser ablation is expected to create a change in the morphology of nanoscale structures on the polymer surface. 

TXRF is most applicable to liquid samples, but success has also been achieved with direct analysis of some solids, e.g. very thin sections of organic tissue and polymer film. Alternatively, small amounts of solid material can be analysed by TXRF after acid digestion. 

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