Vapor phase organic chemistry to deposit conjugated polymer films on arbitrary substrates

Abstract

Coating textured, high surface area substrates, such as paper and textiles, with conjugated polymer films is challenging. Selected vapor deposition techniques allow for the film forming process to be largely divorced of substrate properties, such as surface energy and surface roughness, and have the potential to yield conformal coatings. However, reliable vapor deposition techniques with which to fabricate structurally-diverse conjugated polymer films do not exist. Here, we report two vapor deposition chambers that, combined, allow for in situ vapor phase polymerization of a representative selection of common conjugated monomers. Conformal coating of highly disordered, high surface area three-dimensional substrates, including a cotton towel and corduroy fabric, with either conductive PEDOT or poly(thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) films of precisely-controlled thickness is described.