Conductance measurement by two-line probe method of polypyrrole nano-films formed on mica by admicellar polymerization

Measuring the electrical conductance is of importance in fabricating electronic devices based on semiconducting thin films. In this report, electrically conducting polypyrrole (PPy) nano-films were deposited on insulating mica plates by admicellar polymerization. It becomes difficult to measure such film conductance in the lateral direction due the nanometric thickness which only allows for very low electrical current. In order to understand the effects of surfactant on the film conductivity, morphological studies using atomic force microscopy and conductance measurements with a sub-fA multimeter were performed. Higher conductances were found for PPy thin films made using surfactant templates, than that of a bare mica surface. Using the two-line probe method by drawing two lines of silver glue 8 mm apart on the sample surface, the current–voltage curves of bare mica surface yielded a lateral conductance of 6.0×10−13 S. In comparison, PPy thin films made using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as surfactant templates showed conductances of 1.2×10−11 S and 7.7×10−12 S, respectively. The higher conductances indicate tunneling, hopping, and percolation of charge carriers throughout the films. The lower-bound conductivities were calculated as 4.0×10−3 S/cm and 2.6×10−3 S/cm, measured based on the average thickness 2.3 nm for the SDS-PPy films and 2.4 nm for the CTAB-PPy films. Conductivities for both SDS and CTAB template PPy films are found to be of the same order.