Heterostructured Layer Growth of Polyaniline by Vacuum Thermal Evaporation and Fabrication of Thin-Film Capacitors

Thin films of conducting polymers find applications in many emerging areas, including packaging, sensing, coating, thin film capacitors, organic integrated circuits, organic thin wires, and electroluminescent devices. The success of thin film based devices relies on precisely controlled thickness (in the range of 100 nm) and surface characteristics. Tailored-made properties can be harnessed by preparing thin film by multiple coatings (viz., layer-by-layer deposition), which brings a heterogeneity within the film required for special applications. Polyaniline (PANI), in spite of its excellent electrical conductivity, the fabrication of thin film-based devices is restricted due to its brittleness. Herein, we report the preparation of bilayer thin film of PANI along with the individual thin films of PANI-ES and PANI-EB, using vacuum thermal evaporation method. The detailed structural and morphological analysis shows the formation of well-organized PANI thin films with a roughness ~ 10 nm and thickness rangin...