Polymerization of EDOT on H₂O by DBD treatment

We have previously reported synthesis of a freestanding film on an aqueous solution irradiated with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). In this work, we have explored possibility of fabricating freestanding Poly-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) films with the same method using 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) as the source liquid material. However, no films were formed by simple DBD irradiation on EDOT, although the liquid color changed from transparent to deep brown. Alternatively, we examined DBD irradiation on the EDOT droplet on H₂O. The amounts of EDOT and H₂O was 10µL and 1000µL, respectively. Applied voltage was bipolar-pulse voltage with amplitude of 5kV, frequency of 40kHz, and pulse width of 4 µs. The discharge gas was helium (2.5 L/min). The structure of the samples was investigated using Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) absorption spectroscopy. EDOT and H₂O of the sample before DBD irradiation were separated like water and oil. After the He-DBD irradiation for 10 minutes, a freestanding film colored with black was successfully formed on the surface of the liquid. In addition, the result of the IR spectra suggested that the film formed by DBD irradiation was a polymer of EDOT. Details will be presented in the conference.