Scanning probe microscope imaging of polyaniline thin films in non‐contact mode

The structure of electropolymerized thin films of polyaniline has been studied using the techniques of contact and non‐contact scanning probe microscopy (SPM). Films exposed to Ir + cations in solution, as well as unexposed films, were examined. Contact‐mode SPM images of these films reveal only a diffuse, amorphous surface structure in both types of film, while non‐contact SPM images indicate an intricate, nanometer‐scale domain structure. Film growth is in a layer‐by‐layer mode, with each layer consisting of small polymer bundles of average dimension 1000 ± 75 Å. The Ir + incorporation in these films does not involve a restructuring of the film morphology. The relevance of the microscopic domain structure to models describing conduction mechanisms in these films is also discussed.