Preparation and characterization of porphyrin–polythiophene stacked films as prepared by electrochemical method under stirring condition

Porphyrin–polythiophene (pTh) stacked films consisting of meso-tetrathienylporphyrin (TThP) and bithiophene (BiTh) were prepared on transparent indium–tin-oxide (ITO) electrodes by sequential electrochemical scanning of applied potential between 0 and + 2 V vs Ag wire in the electrolyte solution of BiTh and TThP under stirring condition. First, the pTh films were prepared by electrochemical polymerization and then TThP was incorporated into the as-prepared pTh film by subsequent electrochemical scanning as described above in the TThP solution. The operation of solution stirring during electrochemical scanning achieved the formation of robust stacked films. UV/Vis and fluorescence spectra confirmed that the amount of TThP moiety increased with increasing the number of electrochemical scanning cycles in the TThP solution. In order to evaluate the incorporation profile of TThP, surface analyses and depth profiles of stacked films were carried out by XPS spectroscopy. The results suggested that all films formed porphyrin–polythiophene stacked structure precisely, and that TThP was exclusively incorporated around the outermost region of the pTh film.