Honeycomb-structured porous poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) composite layers on a gold electrode

• We developed microstructured electrodes based on conducting composites.
• We obtained three composites with PEDOT, polyacrylic acid and anthranilic acid.
• All structures were obtained on a polystyrene template via electropolymerization.
• SDS surfactant plays a key role during template deposition process.

Three microstructured electrodes modified with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) were obtained. One electrode was modified with PEDOT doped with poly(4-lithium styrenesulfonic acid) (PSSLi), the second one with a PEDOT + polyacrylic acid composite doped with PSSLi, and the third one with a PEDOT + anthranilic acid composite doped with poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid). The three electrodes were prepared using templates of polystyrene latex spheres (PS). The templates were deposited on the electrode using our dip-coating-like technique that we developed by optimizing key parameters, such as PS and sodium dodecyl sulfate concentration, angle of inclination, and decantation rate. The structure of the templates was verified by optical microscopy. A conducting polymer layer was obtained by electropolymerization from appropriate monomer solutions. In the final stage, the template was dissolved in toluene and the morphology of the resulting honeycomb-structure was examined by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy methods. The electrochemical properties of the electrodes were tested by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.