Recently we reported the electropolymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) and its derivatives on a bipolar electrode (BPE) with the sacrificial reduction of benzoquinone (BQ), and found that poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) derivatives propagated as a dendritic fiber form (φ = ca. 5 μm) from the ends of Au wires used as BPEs parallel to an external electric field.¹

In this study, we demonstrated that the AC-bipolar electopolymerization of EDOT in a micro-space produced the PEDOT fibers with one-dimensional morphology.² In this situation, the micro-space around the BPEs and generated PEDOT fibers was effective to limit the further access of EDOT monomer from the side of the fibers but allowed it at the terminal of the fibers, which led to the formation of linear PEDOT fibers. This method was found to be useful to connect BPE wires with linear PEDOT fibers, in which the growing direction could be controlled by the external electric field, in a better manner to the previous dendritic growth of PEDOT fibers. The rapid and selective wiring of conductors with organic microfibers would be of potential interest in the application for organic devices.

References

1. Y. Koizumi, N. Shida, M. Ohira, H. Nishiyama, I. Tomita, S. Inagi, Nat. Commun. 2016, 7, 10404.

2. M. Ohira, Y. Koizumi, H. Nishiyama, I. Tomita, S. Inagi, Polym. J. in press.