Development of anchored oligothiophenes on substrates for the application to the tunable transparent conductive films

Bis(triethoxysilyl)-substituted oligothiophene with a moderate π-conjugation length was newly synthesized and polymerized to give a polysilsesquioxane network having oligothiophene units dispersed homogeneously without phase separation. The polymer was fixed on glass or ITO substrate by spin-coating and annealing. The resulting film exhibited a high mechanical strength due to the covalent bonding with the substrates, and was electrochemically stable even after 300 redox cycles in electrolyte solution. Chemical oxidation of the polymer films yielded electrically conductive and almost transparent films.