The characteristics of dip-coated polystyrene-poly(2-cinnamoylethyl methacr
ylate) (PSn-PCEMA(m)) copolymeric coatings on Au wire and sputtered Au (on
quartz crystals) electrodes have been investigated using TEM, cyclic voltam
metry, mass measurements and ellipsometry. TEM studies of PS800-PCEMA(600)
films, formed from an 86% cyclopentane (CP)/14% THF solvent, without subseq
uent rinsing, are 70-85 nm thick and are in the form of micelles, ca. 40 nm
in diameter. The coverage of Au by the PSn-PCEMA(m) micellar coating, esta
blished using cyclic voltammetry in pH 7 solutions, increases with depositi
on time and with the concentration of PSn-PCEMA(m) in the deposition soluti
on. Also, the coverage is higher on smooth sputtered Au versus Au wires and
for copolymers containing the greatest number of styrene units, independen
t of the ratio of the number of PS to PCEMA units. Rinsing the PSn-PCEMA(m)
coating with the block selective solvent after coating deposition rapidly
decreases the coating density, thickness and surface coverage. An interesti
ng feature of these coatings is that the copolymer (likely the PCEMA block)
promotes the formation of a hydrous Au P-oxide film at anomolously low pot
entials. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.