Disassembly of redox responsive poly(ferrocenylsilane) multilayers: The effect of blocking layers, supporting electrolyte and polyion molar mass

• Poly(ferrocenylsilane) organometallic multilayers were fabricated and characterized.
• The disassembly of redox responsive films and composite bilayers was studied.
• The influence of counterions, blocking layers, and ionic strength was elucidated.

Layer by layer (LbL) organometallic multilayers, composed of poly(ferrocenylsilane) (PFS) polycations and polyanions, were fabricated and characterized. Disassembly of redox responsive PFS−/PFS+ films as well as multilayers consisting of PFS−/PFS+ combined with redox inert bilayers was studied. The influence of parameters on disassembly kinetics and mechanism, such as distance between redox PFS multilayers and the electrode, effect of the top inert layer, the choice of the supporting electrolyte, the ionic strength of the solution, and the molar mass of polymers, was investigated. The results elucidate the details of the disassembly mechanism and provide design criteria for preparing templates with highly controllable disassembly kinetics.

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