Pedot brushes electrochemically synthesized on thienyl-modified glassy carbon surfaces

The work describes the formation of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) brushes attached to thienyl-modified glassy carbon surface (GC) via surface-initiated electrochemical polymerization. The initial modification of the GC electrode was performed by using of three different thienyl-derivatives of aniline that were first converted to the form of diazonium salts. These salts were then electrochemically reduced creating the organic monolayer covalently bound to GC. The surface layer was investigated electrochemically and identified using XPS. The structural conjugation of the resulting monolayer made it possible to initiate the electrochemical polymerization of EDOT from the modified surface. The polymeric structure formed on the thienyl-modified surface reveals a better redox peak separation as compared to the classical polymer film on a bare electrode that can be assigned to its more ordered and uniform structure.