Electrical surface resistivity of conductive polymers - A non-Gaussian approach for determination of confidence intervals

Polyanilines doped with different acids (HCI, H2SO4 and dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid, DBSA) were prepared and their surface electrical conductivities were characterized in a four-probe device, connected to a real-time data acquisition board. Collected data were synchronized and conductivity calculations were performed. The conductive behavior of the polyanilines was investigated along the electrification time. This allowed for introduction of a non-Gaussian technique for determination of the confidence intervals of surface resistivity data. It is shown that the distribution of experimental surface resistivity data does not follow a normal probability distribution function (PDF). Thus, ordinary assumptions related to normal distribution of the experimental errors are wrong and must be corrected for proper determination of the confidence limits of measured resistivity values. It is shown here that confidence limits of resistivity values are asymmetrical and that distribution of experimental values can follow multimodal distributions. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.