Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of poly(3-hexylthiophene)/single-walled carbon nanotube array hybrid materials

In this study, we demonstrate that by directly employing single-walled carbon nanotube arrays (SWCNT-arrays)-grown on conductive substrates-as working electrodes, selective and uniform electrodeposition of a conducting polymer, namely poly(3-hexylthiophene), can be achieved on the surface of the nanotubes. The overall kinetic pattern of the electrodeposition was studied by separating the deposition charge from the one related to the redox transformation of the polymer film deposited during the precedent cycles. Both the structure and the electrochemical properties of the hybrid materials were studied as a function of the electrodeposition cycles, thus the amount of the formed polymer. The hybrids were characterized by electron microscopic (SEM, TEM) and vibrational spectroscopic (Raman spectroscopy) means. The obtained results were compared and contrasted with those gathered on macroscopic-sized multi-walled carbon nanotube array-based composites in our group recently. Overall, we conclude that electrochemical polymerization is an attractive tool to synthesize conducting polymer/SWCNT hybrid materials with controlled composition and morphology.