Electrochemical formation and characterisation of poly(3-methylthiophene)/WO3 nanocomposite films

Stable poly(3-methylthiophene)/WO₃ (PMeT/WO₃) nanocomposite films have been prepared by a two-step electrochemical method. At first the WO₃ film was grown by a potentiostatic method in tungsten electrolytes, and then PMeT was deposited on the WO₃ film by a potentiodynamic polymerisation method in 2?M solutions of 3-methylthiophene in 1-butyl-3-metyllimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM]PF₆). The products are characterised in detail by multiform techniques: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopies (FTIR). The obtained PMeT/WO₃ film displays a significant enhancement of electrochemical activity and a higher stability than that of pure PMeT films.