Preparation of Microfiber and Smooth Film Conducting Polymer Electrodes

As part of a long-range effort involving the design and fabrication of electrodes for in vivo use, we describe herein a method for the production of conducting polymer fibers with diameters on the order of a few micrometers. This method has been shown to be applicable to several different combinations of monomers [pyrrole, N-methylpyrrole, 3-methylthiophene, poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)], deposition substrates (Pt, stainless steel), and dopant ions (dodecyl benzene sulfonate, perchlorate, chloride, polymethylmethacrylate). Cyclic voltammetric characterization shows that the background current is minimal, and normal behavior is seen for the ferri/ferrocyanide couple with the exception of a slightly increased peak separation. An ancillary benefit of these studies is the production of extremely smooth films of these polymers, even in cases where the films are up to 20 μm thick.