Electrochemical synthesis of polypyrrole within PMMA nanochannels produced by AFM mechanical lithography

A novel approach for the fabrication of polypyrrole nanowires via electropolymerization within poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanochannels on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate is reported. The nanochannels width and depth obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) mechanical lithography on PMMA coated ITO substrate are about 150 and 35 nm. The nanochannels act as templates for electropolymerization of polypyrrole nanowires. The morphology of PMMA nanochannels and polypyrrole nanowires were investigated by AFM. The polypyrrole nanowires are around 350 nm in width and 20 μm in length. The conducting properties of polypyrrole nanowires were identified by AFM with a conducting tip (CT-AFM). The AFM current image shows that the current difference can be distinguished between doped polypyrrole nanowires and PMMA thin film. The present methodology demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of electropolymerization of polypyrrole nanowires within PMMA nanochannels produced by AFM mechanical lithography.