MORPHOLOGICAL EFFECTS IN CONDUCTING POLYMER-FILMS STUDIED BY COMBINEDQCM AND SPECTROSCOPIC ELLIPSOMETRY

This contribution describes our studies of electrochemically grown con ducting polymer (CP) films. We used an instrumental system which enabl es simultaneous optical (ellipsometric) and microgravimetric (Quartz-C rystal-Microbalance) measurements in situ during CP film growth and du ring electrochemical cycling. Our paper reviews recent results obtaine d with this system in the study of films of polyaniline and of polypyr role in aqueous systems which provides information on film growth mech anisms and on the dependence of film morphology on electrochemical gro wth conditions and postgrowth treatments. We describe recent measureme nts of morphological changes in electrochemically grown films of polya niline induced by the application of electrochemical undoping-redoping cycles.