Band-Like Charge Transport in Phytic Acid-Doped Polyaniline Thin Films

Abstract

We explore the charge transport properties of phytic acid (PA) doped polyaniline thin films prepared by the surfactant monolayer-assisted interfacial synthesis (SMAIS). Structural and elemental analysis confirms the inclusion of PA in the thin films and reveals a progressive loss of crystallinity with the increase of PA doping content. Charge transport properties are interrogated by time-resolved terahertz (THz) spectroscopy. Notably, independently of doping content and hence crystallinity, the frequency-resolved complex conductivity spectra in the THz region can be properly described by the Drude model, demonstrating band-like charge transport in the samples and state-of-the-art charge carrier mobilities of ≈1 cm2V−1s−1. A temperature-dependent analysis for the conductivity further supports band-like charge transport and suggest that charge carrier mobility is primarily limited by impurity scattering. This work highlights the potential of PA doped polyaniline for organic electronics.