Polyethylene dithiophene nanotubules

Conducting nanotubules can be produced by deposition of either metals or of conducting polymers onto the walls of etched ion tracks. Here we shall report specifically on the formation of nanotubules of polyethylenedithiophene (PEDT), which belongs to the most advanced class of conducting polymers. PEDT tubules are produced by in situ polymerisation of EDT. A disadvantage of the EDT solution is that it is non-wetting on normal polymers. To make it wetting - and hence to let it penetrate into the etched tracks, the inner surfaces of the tracks in the host polymers have first to be oxidized. This is enabled by boiling the microporous foils in KMnO/sub 4/ solution. The correlation between the oxidation time and the quality of the PEDT tubule (as determined by its resistivity) is presented. Tubules of polythiophenes do not possess that degree of perfection, as do tubules of, e.g. metals, fullerite, or insulating polymers. Especially, scanning micrographs of them reveal a great variety of forms, which unfortunately limits their applicability and miniaturization. The conducting regions of microporous foils with embedded PEDT tubules show up nicely in atomic force micrographs, when using conducting tips. Corresponding current/voltage curves are presented.