Mono- and multilayers of oligoethylene oxide-modified poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) on ito and glass surfaces

Dichloromethane-soluble poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)s modified with oligoethyleneoxide chains of different lengths (PEDT-EO and PEDT-PEO) were produced by anodic coupling. PEDT-EO solutions were used to produce mono- and multilayer films on ITO-glass electrodes and float glass sheets. Layer-by-layer alternation of doped PEDT-EO with poly(p-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) or doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) sulfonate produced electroactive and robust multilayered surfaces with low surface resistivity (5x105 W/ð for a PEDT-EO/PSS 10-bilayer). Analogous multilayers could be built from doped PEDT-EO and polyammonium polycations. Doped PEDT-EO forms with PSS the first reported electrostatically bound polyionic multilayers in which the positive charge is delocalized over a polythiophene backbone.