Electrochemically Template-Grown Multi-Segmented Gold-Conducting Polymer Nanowires with Tunable Electronic Behavior

Multisegmented nanowires (NWs) based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and polypyrrole (PPy) are synthesized by an all-electrochemical template method for precise control over segment dimensions. We study the influence of different parameters on the growing process of the PEDOT segment and on the mechanical strength of the conjugated polymer/metal interfaces in tri-segmented Au-PEDOT-Au and tetra-segmented Au-PEDOT-PPy-Au NWs. The coexistence of PEDOT and PPy in tetra-segmented NWs is confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. We investigate the electrical transport of individual multisegmented NWs of both types at room temperature. An interesting feature of the tetra-segmented NWs compared to tri-segmented NWs is the switching of their electrical characteristics in function of the redox state of the two conjugated polymer blocks.