Sequentially adsorbed electrostatic multilayers of polyaniline and azo polyelectrolytes

Abstract In this study, multilayer films composed of alternate polyaniline (PANI) and azo-polyelectrolyte (PNACN, PPAPE, PNANT or PNATZ) layers were fabricated through the electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly scheme. In the electrostatic adsorption process, PANI was used as the polycation and the azo polyelectrolytes were used as the polyanion. The multilayer growth was monitored by UV–vis spectroscopy and optical ellipsometry. The photoresponsive and electrochromic properties of the multilayer films were studied by UV–vis spectroscopy and electrochemical measurement. Results show that the multilayer films exhibit linear increases in both the absorbance and film thickness with the increase of the deposition cycles. The thickness contributed by each individual layer depends on the pH of the PANI and azo-polyelectrolyte dipping solutions. The multilayer films can show photoinduced dichroic properties contributed by the azo-polyelectrolyte layers, but the ability to form surface-relief-grating (SRG) upon Ar + laser irradiation is relatively weak. The multilayer films possess the characteristic absorption bands related to the azo chromophores and PANI. As the location of the PANI bands depends on its oxidation states, the multilayer films can show sensitive electrochromic variation. For instance, the PANI/PNACN multilayer films can undergo a transition from transparent yellow-green through deep green to opaque black when the potential changes from −0.1 to 0.8 V. It is demonstrated that using the azo polyelectrolytes with different hues, enriched spectrum of the colors can be obtained by the electrochemical transitions. The multilayer films containing both photoresponsive and electroactive components can be expected for applications in optics, photonic devices and others.