Morphological and electrochemical properties of “polyelectrolyte multilayer films” made from polyaniline and ZnO nanoparticles: Deposition as films or as clusters?

Deposits made by the alternated deposition of polyaniline (PANI) and ZnO nanoparticles may offer interesting applications as nonvolatile memory devices owing to the specific properties of each constituent. The rectifying ratio of such devices may strongly depend on the PANI/ZnO interface and on the morphology of the (PANI/ZnO)_n or (PANI/ZnO)_n‐PANI films. In this article we show that even if the morphology of the PEI/PSS‐(PANI/ZnO)_n or of the PEI/PSS‐(PANI/ZnO)_n‐PANI films seems very heterogeneous on the basis of scanning electron micrographs, the deposits consist of clusters deposited on a continuous film. In addition, the deposits become impermeable to ferrocyanide anions after the deposition of n = 10 alternated deposition cycles, confirming the existence of a continuous and impermeable film below the observed clusters. Such deposits may find interesting properties as a nonvolatile memory device. POLYM. COMPOS. 34:1333–1341, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers