Oxidative molecular layer deposition of PEDOT using volatile antimony(V) chloride oxidant

Abstract

Molecular layer deposition and chemical vapor deposition are emerging and promising techniques for the incorporation of high-performance conductive polymers into high surface area devices, such as sintered tantalum anodes for electrolytic capacitors. Until recently, vapor-phase synthesis of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) has relied on solid reactants which require relatively high temperatures and complex dosing schemes for sequential layer-by-layer processes. This work introduces a facile and high-performing layer-by-layer oxidative molecular layer deposition (oMLD) scheme using the volatile liquid oxidant antimony(V) chloride (SbCl5) to deposit PEDOT thin films. Effects of reactor parameters on PEDOT film characteristics are described, and the necessary foundation for future studies aiming to understand the nucleation and growth of layer-by-layer oMLD PEDOT is detailed.