Strengthening adhesion of polycarbazole films on ITO surface by covalent electrografting of monomer

Abhishek Kumar (1) , Emmanuel Contal (2) , Sophie Lakard (2) , Frédéric Dumur (3) , Rita Meunier-Prest (1) , Lydie Viau (2) , Marcel Bouvet (1) , Boris Lakard (2)

1 ICMUB - Institut de Chimie Moléculaire de l'Université de Bourgogne [Dijon]
2 UTINAM - Univers, Transport, Interfaces, Nanostructures, Atmosphère et environnement, Molécules (UMR 6213)
3 ICR - Institut de Chimie Radicalaire

Strong adhesion of a functional polymer coating to a solid support is a key requirement to achieve its robustness and high performance in different application areas. Herein, a novel carbazole derivative, 9-methyl-9H-carbazole-3,6-diamine (m-Cz-diamine), is synthesized and covalently grafted onto an ITO surface through the diazonium electroreduction method. The functionalization of the ITO surface is confirmed by XPS spectroscopy, water contact angle measurements and cyclic voltammetry analysis, revealing the covalent anchoring of an organic film (m-Cz-ITO). The functionalized ITO surface is then studied for oxidative electropolymerization of m-Cz-diamine and carbazole, showing clear advantages over a bare ITO substrate in terms of polymer film adhesion. The polymer films electrodeposited onto an electrografted ITO surface demonstrate very strong adhesion, as they do not delaminate, either by a scotch tape pulling, storing in air, or immersing under water for two months. On the other hand, the polymer films grown on a bare ITO substrate peel off easily in all the aforementioned stability tests. Therefore, electrografting an organic film onto the ITO surface clearly improves the adhesion of the polymer films on top of it. Moreover, it is interesting to note that the physicochemical properties of the polymer films deposited on the functionalized ITO substrate remain unchanged.

Mots clés: Carbazoles; Conducting polymers; Diazonium; Electrochemistry; Electrografting; Thin films

Domaines: Polymères

Abhishek Kumar, Emmanuel Contal, Sophie Lakard, Frédéric Dumur, Rita Meunier-Prest, et al.. Strengthening adhesion of polycarbazole films on ITO surface by covalent electrografting of monomer. Surfaces and Interfaces, 2022, 35, pp.102447. ⟨10.1016/j.surfin.2022.102447⟩. ⟨hal-03840158⟩