Novel Nanostructured Electrodes Obtained by Pyrolysis of Composite Polymeric Materials

In this work, we compare pyrolyzed carbon derived from the photoresist SU-8 alone or in combination with polystyrene and poly(styrene)-block-poly(dimethyl-siloxane) copolymer (PS-b-PDMS), to be used as novel materials for micro- and nanoelectrodes. The pyrolyzed carbon films are evaluated with scanning electron microscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angle analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, the standard rate constant for electron transfer is determined from cyclic voltammograms and found to be lower for PS-b-PDMS compared to PS and SU-8 films. This may be related to the lower carbon content of PS-b-PDMS, as well as to its higher microstructural disorder.