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Fabrication of Large-area Free-standing Ultrathin Polymer Films
Published on: June 3, 2015
The resistance of polyelectrolyte multilayers in a free-hanging configuration
Kaori Sugihara1, János Vörös, Tomaso Zambelli
1Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH Zurich, Gloriastrasse 35, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland. sugihara@biomed.ee.ethz.ch
Abstract:
The resistivity ρ(PEM) of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs), PEI(PSS/PAH)(24), PEI(PGA/PAH)(12), PEI(HA/PLL)(12) and PEI(PSS/PLL)(12), in a free-hanging configuration was estimated combining electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and atomic force microscopic (AFM) images. Surprisingly, the obtained value of several kΩcm is at least 6 orders of magnitude lower than that reported previously, where the resistivity was determined in the conventional PEM-on-electrode system. The significant discrepancy indicates the unexpectedly low electrical PEM resistance in the absence of redox-active ions and the sensitivity limitation in the conventional system.
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