Development and characterization of polypyrrole bi-layer and tri-layer thin porous films

This paper investigates the development and characterization of polypyrrole thin porous films that were prepared using electrochemical synthesis techniques. The morphology, mass and thickness of the fabricated films were examined for various processing parameters such as synthesis voltage, deposition time and polarization time. Upon actuation of the polypyrrole bi-layers, trends for both morphology and bending displacement were elucidated with different deposition and polarization times as well as actuation voltages. The actuation speed of the bi-layers was faster with increasing actuation voltages. However, upon actuation of the polypyrrole tri-layers, the morphology and bending displacement had different trends between the oxidation and reduction states when using different actuation voltages.