Charge transport in redox polyelectrolyte multilayer films: the dramatic effects of outmost layer and solution ionic strength.

The redox switching kinetics, that is, charge transfer and transport in layer-by-layer-deposited electroactive polyelectrolyte multilayers is systematically studied with variable-scan-rate cyclic voltammetry. The experiments are performed with films finished in the redox polycation (an osmium pyridine-bipyridine derivatized polyallylamine, PAH-Os) and the polyanion (polyvinyl sulfonate, PVS), in solutions of different electrolyte concentrations. A modified diffusion model is developed to account for the experimentally observed dependence of the average peak potential with the scan rate. This model is able to describe both the redox peak potential and the current, providing information on the electron-transfer rate constants and the diffusion coefficient for the electron-hopping mechanism. While the former does not vary with the ionic strength or the nature of the outmost layer, polyanion-capped films present an electron-hopping diffusion coefficient at low ionic strength that is three orders of magnitude smaller than that for PAH-Os-capped films. The effect is offset at high ionic strength. We discuss the possible causes of the effect and the important consequences for electrochemical devices built by layer-by-layer self-assembly, such as amperometric biosensors or electrochromic devices.