VOLUME 7 NUMBER 1 (January to June 2014)

Philipp. Sci. Lett. 2014 7 (1) 171-178
available online: May 11, 2014

*Corresponding author
Email Address: kevin_kaw@dlsu.edu.ph
Received: January 15, 2014
Revised: March 31, 2014
Accepted: April 2, 2014

ARTICLE

A morphological and cyclic voltammetric investigation of spin-coated hexa-ammineruthenium(III)-incorporated Nafion® thin films

Kevin Anthony Y. Kaw*, Shirley T. Palisoc, Michelle T. Natividad

Materials Science Laboratory, Physics Department, De La Salle University – Manila

Hexaammineruthenium(III)-incorporated Nafion® thin films (<600nm) were fabricated using dynamic dispense spin coating. The concentration of the ruthenium complex and the thinning rates were varied and compared. Scanning electron microscopy was used to investigate the surface morphology of the spin-coated thin films and cyclic voltammetry (CV) for the transport properties. Micrographs showed the presence of lumps on the most concentrated film, but were better smoothened with increased thinning rates and vanished with decreased concentration, and that the surface appeared to be smooth. CV characterizations showed that concentrations played a greater role in the conductivity of the film resulting from the concentration of the redox mediator content which indicated that thinner films, therefore, were either more efficient or more sensitive. The test also indicated that the ruthenium complex was immobilized in the Nafion film.