Thin films of Prussian blue: sequential assembly, patterning and electron transport properties at the nanometric...

We present a new approach for patterning thin films of Prussian blue at the micro- and nano-metric scales. In a first step, a resist was deposited on a gold surface and patterns were generated by photolithography or electron beam lithography. The Prussian blue with idealized formula of KFe(III)[Fe(II)(CN)6] was deposited through the sequential exposure of the patterned surface to a series of solutions containing alternately absorbable Fe3+ cations and [Fe(CN)6]4- anions. These building blocks are gradually associated into dense and continuous films and patterned structures of Prussian blue can be obtained finally by lift-off. This approach was also used to deposit Prussian blue thin films on interdigitated nanoelectrodes and the current-voltage characteristics of this device were investigated.