Synthesis and characterization of polythiophene and poly (3-methylthiophene) nanotubes and nanowires

We synthesized nanotubes and nanowires of π-conjugated polythiophene (PT) and poly (3-methylthiophene) (P3MT) by using nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (A1₂O₃) template through electrochemical polymerization method From SEM and TEM photographs, we observed the formation of nanotubes with diameters of 100 ∼ 200 nm and wall thicknesses of 5 ∼ 10 nm. The length of PT and P3MT nanotubes and nanowires was up to ∼40 μm. To discern the structural and optical properties of the systems, we measured UV/Vis absorbance and FT-IR spectra. We observed that the doping level, the π-π^* transition peak, and bipolaron peaks in P3MT nanotubes varied with synthetic temperature. Based on measured I-V characteristic curves with gate bias for a single strand of PT nanotube, the systems should be considered to exhibit p-type nature.